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Clinical pharmacy interventions in paediatric electronic prescriptions

Barbara Maat1, Yuen San Au, Casper W Bollen

  • 1Department of Clinical Pharmacy, University Medical Center Utrecht, PO Box 85500, Utrecht 3508 GA, The Netherlands. B.Maat@umcutrecht.nl

Archives of Disease in Childhood
|November 28, 2012
PubMed

Insights

Clinical pharmacy interventions are crucial for paediatric electronic prescriptions, with most correcting potential adverse events. Optimizing electronic prescribing systems, especially reducing free-text entries, can enhance patient safety and medication accuracy.

Area of Science:

  • Clinical Pharmacy
  • Paediatric Healthcare
  • Health Informatics

Background:

  • Electronic prescribing systems aim to improve medication safety but may not fully prevent errors.
  • Clinical pharmacy interventions play a vital role in identifying and rectifying prescription errors in paediatric patients.
  • Understanding the frequency and determinants of these interventions is essential for optimizing paediatric medication management.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To determine the frequency and nature of clinical pharmacy interventions in paediatric electronic prescriptions.
  • To identify factors influencing the need for interventions in paediatric electronic prescribing.
  • To provide evidence-based recommendations for improving paediatric electronic prescribing systems.

Main Methods:

  • A prospective cohort study with a nested case-control design was conducted.
  • Data were collected from paediatric electronic prescriptions at a tertiary children's hospital.
  • Prescriptions requiring intervention (cases) were compared with those not requiring intervention (controls).

Main Results:

  • Interventions were made for 1.1% of paediatric electronic prescriptions, predominantly to correct potential adverse events.
  • Wrong doses constituted the most common reason for intervention (45%).
  • Higher risks of intervention were observed for younger children (1-2 years), free-text prescriptions, and oral dosage forms.

Conclusions:

  • Paediatric prescribing errors are frequent despite electronic systems, highlighting the need for enhanced safety measures.
  • Minimizing free-text entries and incorporating features like dose checking can improve electronic prescribing quality.
  • This study offers insights for refining electronic prescribing to enhance safety and efficiency in paediatric care.
Abstract

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