Pharmacists' interventions on prescribing errors in Malaysia

Prescribing errors (PEs) cause significant avoidable harm globally. In Malaysia, despite the prevalence of PEs in government healthcare facilities, there is limited research on how pharmacist staffing levels influence intervention frequency and effectiveness. This study aims to address this gap by analysing intervention trends and assessing their association with staffing levels, highlighting the correlation between increased pharmacist presence and the frequency of interventions.

This retrospective cross-sectional study analysed data from the Ministry of Health's Pharmacy Management Form and the Pharmacy Board Registry from 2017 to 2019. Multivariate regression and two-way ANOVA assessed the association between the number of pharmacists, total prescriptions, and interventions on PEs in Health Clinic Outpatient Pharmacy, Hospital Outpatient Pharmacy, and Hospital Inpatient Pharmacy settings.

Annually, pharmacists intervened in approximately 1.8% of total prescriptions, with the most common errors being wrong dose, wrong medication, and wrong dosing frequency. These interventions were consistent across all settings, highlighting the uniformity in pharmacists' approach to managing PEs. The regression analysis revealed a significant positive correlation between the number of pharmacists, total prescriptions, and interventions on PEs, with an adjusted R-squared value of 0.899. Both the number of pharmacists and total prescriptions received were positively significant (p < 0.05), indicating that increased pharmacist presence strongly correlates with intervention frequency. No statistically significant differences were observed in intervention rates across different settings and severity levels, suggesting that pharmacists consistently provide effective interventions irrespective of the clinical context.

In conclusion, this study confirms that increasing the number of pharmacists and total prescriptions received are critical predictors of interventions on PEs in Malaysia. It underscores the vital role of pharmacists in enhancing patient safety and healthcare quality, demonstrating their effectiveness in diverse settings and their adaptability to various patient needs and challenges.