Prescribing Errors in an Ambulatory Care Setting: Mitigating Risks in Outpatient Medication Orders, Cross-Sectional Review
Introduction Prescribing errors (PEs) are the most common type of medication error, which may occur by prescribing the wrong medication, improper dose, dosage, and/or even prescribing a drug to the wrong patient. The present study aims to compile PEs that were generated in an ambulatory care setting...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Innovative Healthcare Institute
2024-11-01
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| Series: | Global Journal on Quality and Safety in Healthcare |
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| Online Access: | https://theijpt.org/doi/pdf/10.36401/JQSH-24-2 |
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| author | Wesam S. Abdel-Razaq Ghada Mardawi Aiman A. Obaidat Lama Aljahani Maram Almutairi Reham Almotiri Nataleen A. Albekairy Tariq Aldebasi Abdulkareem M. Albekairy Mohammad S. Shawaqfeh |
| author_facet | Wesam S. Abdel-Razaq Ghada Mardawi Aiman A. Obaidat Lama Aljahani Maram Almutairi Reham Almotiri Nataleen A. Albekairy Tariq Aldebasi Abdulkareem M. Albekairy Mohammad S. Shawaqfeh |
| author_sort | Wesam S. Abdel-Razaq |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Introduction
Prescribing errors (PEs) are the most common type of medication error, which may occur by prescribing the wrong medication, improper dose, dosage, and/or even prescribing a drug to the wrong patient. The present study aims to compile PEs that were generated in an ambulatory care setting at a tertiary-care hospital in Saudi Arabia.
Methods
A retrospective cross-sectional review was conducted for all reported PEs in ambulatory care clinics for 3 years. The potential hazardous outcomes of these PEs were classified according to the medication error index.
Results
A total of 897 records containing 1199 PEs were retrieved. More than a third of prescribers had frequently committed PEs—ranging from 2 to 39 times. The most encountered errors were prescribing incorrect doses, medication duplication, incorrect dosing frequency, and inappropriate duration (34.5%, 14.1%, 11.6%, and 9.8%, respectively). The most frequent mistakes were when prescribing antibiotics (22.9%) and drugs for cardiovascular conditions (18.5%). Most errors were of mild to moderate severity, mostly type-B near-miss errors and did not reach patients. Only two prescription events (0.17%) had severe consequences that required intervention to avoid any subsequent harm or damage.
Conclusion
The current investigation has revealed a substantial percentage of PEs, mostly in internal medicine and cardiology departments. Although PEs are undoubtedly not easy to avoid, monitoring and recognizing these inaccuracies is pivotal to preventing potential harm and promoting patient safety. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-2e2af084818d46bf8e4bfc9fb7dfe6fd |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2589-9449 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-11-01 |
| publisher | Innovative Healthcare Institute |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Global Journal on Quality and Safety in Healthcare |
| spelling | doaj-art-2e2af084818d46bf8e4bfc9fb7dfe6fd2024-11-08T16:05:12ZengInnovative Healthcare InstituteGlobal Journal on Quality and Safety in Healthcare2589-94492024-11-017417518110.36401/JQSH-24-2i2589-9449-7-4-175Prescribing Errors in an Ambulatory Care Setting: Mitigating Risks in Outpatient Medication Orders, Cross-Sectional ReviewWesam S. Abdel-Razaq0Ghada Mardawi1Aiman A. Obaidat2Lama Aljahani3Maram Almutairi4Reham Almotiri5Nataleen A. Albekairy6Tariq Aldebasi7Abdulkareem M. Albekairy8Mohammad S. Shawaqfeh91 College of Pharmacy, King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia3 King Abdulaziz Medical City, Ministry of National Guard-Health Affairs, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia1 College of Pharmacy, King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia1 College of Pharmacy, King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia1 College of Pharmacy, King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia1 College of Pharmacy, King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia4 College of Medicine, King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia2 King Abdullah International Medical Research Centre, Ministry of National Guard-Health Affairs, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia1 College of Pharmacy, King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia1 College of Pharmacy, King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences, Riyadh, Saudi ArabiaIntroduction Prescribing errors (PEs) are the most common type of medication error, which may occur by prescribing the wrong medication, improper dose, dosage, and/or even prescribing a drug to the wrong patient. The present study aims to compile PEs that were generated in an ambulatory care setting at a tertiary-care hospital in Saudi Arabia. Methods A retrospective cross-sectional review was conducted for all reported PEs in ambulatory care clinics for 3 years. The potential hazardous outcomes of these PEs were classified according to the medication error index. Results A total of 897 records containing 1199 PEs were retrieved. More than a third of prescribers had frequently committed PEs—ranging from 2 to 39 times. The most encountered errors were prescribing incorrect doses, medication duplication, incorrect dosing frequency, and inappropriate duration (34.5%, 14.1%, 11.6%, and 9.8%, respectively). The most frequent mistakes were when prescribing antibiotics (22.9%) and drugs for cardiovascular conditions (18.5%). Most errors were of mild to moderate severity, mostly type-B near-miss errors and did not reach patients. Only two prescription events (0.17%) had severe consequences that required intervention to avoid any subsequent harm or damage. Conclusion The current investigation has revealed a substantial percentage of PEs, mostly in internal medicine and cardiology departments. Although PEs are undoubtedly not easy to avoid, monitoring and recognizing these inaccuracies is pivotal to preventing potential harm and promoting patient safety.https://theijpt.org/doi/pdf/10.36401/JQSH-24-2prescribing errorsambulatory careoutpatientmedication reconciliationadverse drug events (ades)patient safety |
| spellingShingle | Wesam S. Abdel-Razaq Ghada Mardawi Aiman A. Obaidat Lama Aljahani Maram Almutairi Reham Almotiri Nataleen A. Albekairy Tariq Aldebasi Abdulkareem M. Albekairy Mohammad S. Shawaqfeh Prescribing Errors in an Ambulatory Care Setting: Mitigating Risks in Outpatient Medication Orders, Cross-Sectional Review Global Journal on Quality and Safety in Healthcare prescribing errors ambulatory care outpatient medication reconciliation adverse drug events (ades) patient safety |
| title | Prescribing Errors in an Ambulatory Care Setting: Mitigating Risks in Outpatient Medication Orders, Cross-Sectional Review |
| title_full | Prescribing Errors in an Ambulatory Care Setting: Mitigating Risks in Outpatient Medication Orders, Cross-Sectional Review |
| title_fullStr | Prescribing Errors in an Ambulatory Care Setting: Mitigating Risks in Outpatient Medication Orders, Cross-Sectional Review |
| title_full_unstemmed | Prescribing Errors in an Ambulatory Care Setting: Mitigating Risks in Outpatient Medication Orders, Cross-Sectional Review |
| title_short | Prescribing Errors in an Ambulatory Care Setting: Mitigating Risks in Outpatient Medication Orders, Cross-Sectional Review |
| title_sort | prescribing errors in an ambulatory care setting mitigating risks in outpatient medication orders cross sectional review |
| topic | prescribing errors ambulatory care outpatient medication reconciliation adverse drug events (ades) patient safety |
| url | https://theijpt.org/doi/pdf/10.36401/JQSH-24-2 |
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