Reducing prescribing errors in the paediatric intensive care unit: an experience from Egypt

Aim:  To investigate the impact of different measures, implemented by clinical pharmacists, on prescribing error rates in a paediatric intensive care unit (PICU) in Cairo, Egypt. Methods:  We performed a pre–post study of prescribing errors in a 12 bed PICU. We utilized a chart review method for the...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Acta Paediatrica 2011-10, Vol.100 (10), p.e169-e174
Main Authors: Alagha, Hala Zakaria, Badary, Osama Ahmed, Ibrahim, Hanan Mohammed, Sabri, Nagwa Ali
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Child
Child, Preschool
Clinical pharmacist
Drug-related problems
Education, Medical, Continuing
Egypt
Health care industry
Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice
Humans
Infant
Intensive care
Intensive Care Units, Pediatric - standards
Interprofessional Relations
Medication Errors - prevention & control
Medication Errors - statistics & numerical data
Paediatric intensive care unit
Pharmacists
Prescribing errors
Prescription drugs
Quality Improvement
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Summary:Aim:  To investigate the impact of different measures, implemented by clinical pharmacists, on prescribing error rates in a paediatric intensive care unit (PICU) in Cairo, Egypt. Methods:  We performed a pre–post study of prescribing errors in a 12 bed PICU. We utilized a chart review method for the detection of prescribing errors. The rate and potential severity of prescribing errors were determined before and then after the implementation of the medication error reducing measures. These measures included the use of a new structured medication order chart, physician education, provision of dosing assists and physician performance feedback. Results:  We evaluated 1417 medication orders for 139 patients preintervention and 1097 orders for 101 patients postintervention. Of preintervention orders, 1107 (78.1%) had at least one prescribing error. The intervention resulted in significant reduction in prescribing error rate to 35.2% postintervention (p 
ISSN:0803-5253
1651-2227
DOI:10.1111/j.1651-2227.2011.02270.x