Compliance with prescribed medicines in general medical and surgical wards

A total of 6833 doses of medication were prescribed to 753 hospital inpatients in general wards over a 24-hour period (excluding medicines prescribed on an as-required basis and medicines prescribed for the first time during the 24-hour period). Of these, 574 (8.4%) doses were omitted, representing at least one omitted dose in 242 (32.1%) patients. Many of the omitted doses were of symptomatic treatments and in 43% of instances omission was deemed, retrospectively, to have been beneficial. Some omissions, however, were of a potentially life-threatening nature. The most common reasons for omission were that the patient refused the drug or that the nurse thought the drug unnecessary, the patient was on 'nil by mouth' or was too ill or unable to take the medicine. Thus, omission of prescribed medicines in general wards is common, often of little consequence or even beneficial, but of a potentially serious nature.