A pharmacist study has shown the main causes of errors in medication prescription to hospitalized heart patients.

Researchers at Duke University present an analysis of medication errors on a cardiology ward during a pharmacist study. The pharmacist discovered 24 errors per 100 patient admissions. These mainly involved the wrong drug or the wrong dose and nearly half of the errors involved cardiovascular drugs.

The most common point for medication error was when the patient transferred from outpatient to inpatient care. Other vulnerable times include periods of house staff transition and the summer months, when interns are being trained. There are various measures that can be taken to reduce these errors - which, after all, can have a very negative impact on the patient. Interns should get better training in prescribing heart drugs, and there should be better information given about a patient's outpatient drug regime when they come into hospital. And, of course, the pharmacist occupies a key role and should accompany the doctors on ward rounds in cardiology.

Source

Archives of Internal Medicine 23rd June 2003