International journal of

ADVANCED AND APPLIED SCIENCES

EISSN: 2313-3724, Print ISSN:2313-626X

Frequency: 12
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 Volume 6, Issue 12 (December 2019), Pages: 1-6

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 Original Research Paper

 Title: Completeness of medication prescriptions: Prescription errors study in Hail region, Saudi Arabia (PeSHR)

 Author(s): Ali F. Altebainawi 1, 2, 3, Mohamad Aljofan 4, Mubarak N. Alrashidi 1, Thamir M. Alshammari 1, 2, 5, *

 Affiliation(s):

 1Department of Clinical Pharmacy, College of Pharmacy, University of Hail, Hail, Saudi Arabia
 2Medication Safety Research Chair, College of Pharmacy, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
 3Department of Pharmacovigilance, AJA Pharmaceutical Industries Co. Ltd, Hail, Saudi Arabia
 4Department of Biomedical Sciences, School of Medicine, Nazarbayev University, Astana, Kazakhstan
 5Saudi Food and Drug Authority, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

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 * Corresponding Author. 

  Corresponding author's ORCID profile: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5630-2468

 Digital Object Identifier: 

 https://doi.org/10.21833/ijaas.2019.12.001

 Abstract:

Prescription error is a common and preventable cause of adverse drug events and emerging as a public healthcare concern. It has been responsible for many morbidity, mortality, healthcare cost and litigations. Information regarding the pattern and the burden related to prescription error is limited in Saudi Arabia, particularly, in the Hail region. The study aims to identify the types and frequency of prescription errors in two major hospitals in the Hail Region, Saudi Arabia. A retrospective chart review of prescriptions issued over a two-month period (October–November 2014) was conducted using a validated form. Hand-written prescriptions from the out-patient clinic and Emergency Room were selected using simple random sampling and reviewed to identify any prescription error by two clinical pharmacists. A prescription error was defined and classified based on Neville’s classification. Final data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Data from 1000 prescriptions was extracted and reviewed. At least one prescription error was identified in all the prescriptions (100%). Type A errors identified were missing information related to dose (42%), diagnosis (47%), file number (78%), patient’s body weight (100%) and age (63%). Of the 1000 prescriptions reviewed, 78% did not have a file number, 63% without the patient’s name. Type D error was identified to be poor handwriting (28%), missing prescription date (34%), patient’s sex (22%) and name (0.8%), prescribing date (34%), physician signature (27%) and stamp (16%). The frequency of prescription error at tertiary healthcare hospitals in the Hail Region, Saudi Arabia is high and preventable. Interventions to ensure adherence to good prescription practice, effective communication between healthcare professionals and computerized physician order entry are therefore needed to prevent the burden associated with the prescription error. 

 © 2019 The Authors. Published by IASE.

 This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

 Keywords: Prescription errors, Medication errors, Patient safety, Medication safety

 Article History: Received 15 June 2019, Received in revised form 13 September 2019, Accepted 14 September 2019

 Acknowledgement:

The authors thank the University of Hail for supporting this research by awarding grant No. 160971.

 Compliance with ethical standards

 Conflict of interest:  The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

 Citation:

 Altebainawi AF, Aljofan M, and Alrashidi MN et al. (2019). Completeness of medication prescriptions: Prescription errors study in Hail region, Saudi Arabia (PeSHR). International Journal of Advanced and Applied Sciences, 6(12): 1-6

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 Figures

 Fig. 1 Fig. 2 Fig. 3

 Tables

 Table 1 

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