Prescription-writing by pediatric house officers.
Prescription-writing is an important aspect of medical practice. Illegible and/or incorrect prescriptions can result in loss of patient, physician, and pharmacist time and may cause therapeutic errors or drug toxicity. An examination to evaluate prescription-writing was administered to a group of pediatric house officers and faculty. Follow-up monitoring of actual prescriptions written in the pediatric clinic was performed. Deficient prescription-writing techniques and weakness in the therapeutic knowledge of beginning pediatric interns were identified. The data indicate that proper prescription-writing (especially the use of controlled substances) should be taught to house officers and that the therapeutic knowledge of beginning pediatric interns cannot be assumed to be adequate.
D001130:Arizona; D011307:Drug Prescriptions / Q000592:standards*; D004521:Educational Measurement; D005180:Faculty, Medical; D007396:Internship and Residency; D008508:Medication Errors; D010044:Outpatient Clinics, Hospital; D010372:Pediatrics / Q000193:education*