"It is ultimately Dr Singh's responsibility for that
prescribing error. With respect, we would not be here if this was not Methotrexate.
By this determination of these MEs, the
prescribing error means an error occurred by selection of incorrect drug for the patient (based on indications, contraindications, known allergy, existing drug therapy, and other factors), route, dose, dosage form, quantity, concentration, rate of administration, authorized physician (or other legitimate prescriber), or instruction for use of a drug ordered.
In the evaluation of the origin of medication errors, administration of medicines by nurses caused just over half (51%) of all detected errors, with
prescribing errors by doctors causing 47% of the medication errors.
Prescribing errors are most common during internship due to various attributes focusing on lack of experience and shifting of priorities [2] resulting in harm to patients [3].
Prescribing errors are harmful to the patients and in worst cases they may lead to fatality.
There have been only very few studies that focus on
prescribing errors in psychiatry.
The role of non-medical staff in the input of allergy information to medical records is important, and in some cases demonstrably effective in increasing patient safety by identifying potential sources of
prescribing error. Anoz-Jimenez et al.
Prescribing errors in psychiatry department: An audit from a hospital in Lahore, Journal of Pakistan Psychiatric Society.
"Dunedin demonstrates how significant improvements in
prescribing error rates and staff efficiency can be achieved with iSOFT Medication Management.
"The Epidemiology of
Prescribing Errors: The Potential Impact of Computerized Prescriber Order Entry." Archives of Internal Medicine 164 (7): 785-92.
(2006) as dosing errors including administration error,
prescribing errors, and dispensing errors.
Prescribing errors in an average Florida hospital = (4 potential prescription errors)(5 orders per day per patient) = 20 potential errors (20 potential errors)(9000 admissions annually) = 180,000 potential errors per/hosp.
Most of these are
prescribing errors, where the patient ends up getting the wrong drug, the wrong dose of a drug, or the right drug given at the wrong time.
Other goals of the 100,000 Lives Campaign include delivery of evidence-based care for patients with acute myocardial infarction, implementation of "medication reconciliation" to prevent
prescribing errors, and use of science-based methods to prevent central-line infections, ventilator-associated pneumonia, and surgical-site infections.
While experiences may vary, a study reported in JAMA indicated that about 30 percent of the
prescribing errors in the study were due to lack of knowledge regarding drug therapy, 29 percent to lack of knowledge regarding patient interactions with drugs, 17 percent to arithmetic mistakes and 13 percent to using the wrong drug name.
