RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Omission after admission: failure in prescribed medications being given to inpatients
JF Clinical Medicine
JO Clin Med
FD Royal College of Physicians
SP 515
OP 518
DO 10.7861/clinmedicine.9-6-515
VO 9
IS 6
A1 CJ Green
A1 P Du-Pre
A1 N Elahi
A1 P Dunckley
A1 AS McIntyre
YR 2009
UL http://www.rcpjournals.org/content/9/6/515.abstract
AB Prescribing errors are a recognised problem on admission to acute medical wards which may be detrimental to patient care. The authors had anecdotal evidence that prescribed medicines do not always reach patients and the aim of this audit was to quantify this problem. Admission prescription charts on two separate occasions were studied in detail and all drugs prescribed but not given in the first 48 hours were recorded along with the reason given for omission. In total, 271 patient charts were analysed. Of these, 20% of prescriptions affecting 17% of patients did not reach patients. The two dominant reasons for medications not being given to patients were that the medication was not available on the ward (38% of omissions) or that the patient was nil by mouth (32% of omissions). In 10% of cases the patient refused the medication, in 19% no reason for omission was given and in only a minority (0.3%) was the patient off the ward. This audit demonstrates that even when medications are prescribed they are not always given. This may lead to increased morbidity and length of stay. Strategies need to be put in place to reduce this problem. The current system that permits omission of medications with inadequate justification must be revised.