Investigating the epidemiology of medication errors in adults in community care settings

• Published in: Saudi medical journal 2019-02, Vol.40 (2), p.158-167
• Main Authors: Assiri, Ghadah A, Alkhenizan Abdullah HM, Al-Khani, Salma M, Grant, Liz M, Sheikh, Aziz
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Age; Ambulatory care; Community health care; Drug administration; Epidemiology; Gender; Health behavior; Information technology; Medical errors; Mens health; Patient safety; Polypharmacy; Prescriptions; Risk factors
• ISSN: 0379-5284; 1658-3175
• DOI: 10.15537/smj.2019.2.23933

Objectives: To investigate the period prevalence and risk factors for clinically important prescription and monitoring errors among adults managed in community care in Saudi Arabia (SA). Methods: This retrospective cohort study used electronic health record (HER) data. A random sample comprising of 2,000 adults (≥18 years old) visiting Family Medicine clinics in King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center (KFSH & RC), Riyadh, SA, was selected. Data collection took 3 months (October December 2017). Descriptive analyses and logistic regression modeling were performed using STATA (version 14) statistical software. Results: The overall period prevalence of medication errors over 15 months was 8.1% (95% confidence interval [CI] 6.5-9.7). Risk factors that significantly predicted overall risk of patients experiencing one or more medication errors were: age ≥65 years, male gender, Saudi nationality, and polypharmacy (defined as the concurrent use of ≥5 drugs). Conclusions: Clinically important medication errors were commonly observed in relation to both drug prescription and monitoring.