MEDICATION ERRORS IN OUTPATIENT GENERAL MEDICINE DEPARTMENT AT A TERTIARY CARE HOSPITAL: A CROSS SECTIONAL STUDY

Abstract

Medication errors can cause serious adverse effects and potentially to evoke the fatal risk of the disease. Monitoring the safety and efficacy of the drug adequately can prevent the occurrence of adverse effect. The main aim of this study is to identify and intervene the prescribing and dispensing errors among the Outpatient General Medicine department. Across sectional interventional study was carried out at the General Medicine Out-patient Department. The patients who satisfied inclusion and exclusion criteria were enrolled after obtaining their consent. The required data was collected in the patient’s prescription and different types of medication errors was identified and documented. During this study period we found 303 prescriptions with medication errors out of 544 prescriptions. Of the 303 prescriptions prescribing errors was 315(79%) and 85(21%) were dispensing errors. The most common type of medication error was prescribing error. It was absence of strength (35.9%), absence of dosage regimen (32.4%), wrong drug (79.8%). The most common type of dispensing error was required quantity not supplied (55.7%), dispensing wrong drug (32.8%). Occurrence of medication errors was common in Outpatient General Medicine Department in this tertiary care teaching hospital. A clinical pharmacist can play a major role in early detection and prevention of medication errors and thus can improve the quality of care to the patients. Educating the patients about the drugs and their importance of right use can be helpful in minimizing errors.