Classification of Neville et al for Prescription Errors

Description

Neville et al classified prescription errors for a general practitioners. Communication between pharmacist and physician about the number and type of errors can reduce numbers over time. The authors are from the University of Dundee and Ninewells Hospital and Medical School in Dundee.

People affected:

(1) patient

(2) pharmacist

(3) clinician

Type	Description	Example
Type A	potentially serious for patient if prescription dispensed	major error in dose; wrong drug name
Type B	major nuisance	contact by pharmacist with physician to clarify major omission or ambiguity
Type C	minor nuisance	contact by pharmacist to clarify minor problem
Type D	trivial	no doubt about intent but spelling or punctuation errors

Sources of problems:

(1) errors in dosage determination

(2) legibility of handwriting

(3) errors in specification of the formulation

(4) errors in packaging

(5) error in a number entered

(6) other

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Classification of Neville et al for Prescription Errors

Description

Specialty