Errors in Prescription Writing: An Audit of General Practitioners

Abstract

Objective:To identify the errors in the prescription writing of general practitioners (GPx) from different parts of Karachi. Materials and Methods: A descriptive study was conducted in the department of Pharmacology at Bahria University Medical & Dental College, Karachi, from 1st January to 30th February 2014. A total of 100 prescriptions were collected 25 each, randomly, from 04 general practitioner`s clinics (east, west, central and south districts) of Karachi. Verbal consent of the respective (GPx) was taken few days prior to collection of prescriptions. Patient’s consent was taken at the time of obtaining the prescription. All prescriptions were analysed for errors in superscription, inscription, subscription, transcription, signatures and refill information. Results:A total of 473errors were identified in 100 prescriptions. 303 errors in superscription, 06 in inscription, 67 in subscription, 34 in transcription, 1 in prescriber’s signature , and 62 in refill information. Conclusion: Errors in prescription writing are found to be common in the prescriptions of general practitioners. Measures should be taken to refresh the prescription writing skills of general practitioners through Continuous Medical Education Sessions (CMEs) and workshops