Assessment of medication prescription errors and their contributory factors in major cities of Punjab Province, Pakistan: A cross-sectional survey

Purpose: To evaluate the prescription errors and their contributory factors in Punjab, Pakistan. Methods: An observational, cross-sectional study was conducted in 12 major cities of Punjab, Pakistan. A total of 1,184 prescriptions were collected from patients using a convenient sampling method from homes, pharmacies, clinics, and hospitals. The data were presented in frequency and percentage using descriptive statistics. To determine the association between the variables assessed, Chi-square (square 2) test was used. Results: A total of 1,184 prescriptions were analyzed; 432 of them (36.5 %) were from prescribers who are graduate degree holders, and 752 (63.5 %) from prescribers who are post-graduate degree holders. The most commonly missing parameters in the prescriptions were the age of the patients (835 representing 29.4 %), signatures of the prescribers (755 representing 26.5 %), and prefix (622 representing 21.9 %). The number of prescription errors was significantly correlated to prescriber qualification (p = 0.001). The prescription errors were more common in age groups of prescribers: 21 - 30 years (654 representing 23.0 %), and 31 - 40 years (1,012 representing 35.6 %) (p = 0.001). The higher number of prescription errors by post-graduate prescribers working in teaching hospitals can be attributed to the higher patient load and lack of continuing medical education programs for the prescribers. Conclusion: The government should take necessary measures for the implementation of electronic prescribing systems, and devise mechanisms for the uniform distribution of patient load amongst the prescribers working in different hospitals.