Assessment of Prescription Errors in the Internal Medicine Department of a Tertiary Care Hospital in Nepal: A Cross-Sectional Study
Keywords:
Error of omission, Medication error, Prescriptions, Tertiary HospitalAbstract
Introduction: Prescription errors are common problems in hospitals that lead to increase in morbidity, mortality and treatment cost. They also reduce faith towards healthcare providers. They are avoidable and their adverse outcomes can be reduced if assessed and recognized earlier. This study was conducted to assess prescription errors occurred in a tertiary care hospital in Nepal.
Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in the Internal Medicine Department of Lumbini Medical College over five months of duration. Patients who were prescribed at least one drug in the prescription form were included.
Results: Out of 425 patients, prescription errors were seen in 168 (39.5%) cases. Among the prescription errors, 160 (37.6% of all prescriptions) were the errors of omission. Errors of omission, due to missed dose of the drug were observed in 111 prescriptions (26.1%). Regarding the severity of medication errors, category B errors were the most common (21.6%). Prescriptions to patients with one diagnosis were less likely to have prescription errors compared to those with more than one diagnosis (p = 0.0002). Observed frequency of prescription errors was higher among patients with polypharmacy (p < 0.001) and Fixed-Dose Drug Combination (p < 0.001). The observed frequency of errors of omission was also higher among patients with more than one diagnosis (p = 0.0002), patients with polypharmacy (p < 0.001) and patients who were prescribed Fixed- Dose Drug Combinations (p < 0.001).
Conclusion: About one-third of the patients had prescription errors. Among them, errors of omission were the most common.
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Copyright (c) 2021 Naresh Karki, Kamal Kandel, Pravin Prasad
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