Decreasing paediatric prescribing errors in a district general hospital.
BACKGROUND
In paediatric inpatients, medication errors occur as frequently as 1 in 4.2 drug orders, with up to 80% of these being prescribing errors.


BACKGROUND
The children's unit of a district general hospital in West Yorkshire, UK.


METHODS
Prescribing errors and preventable adverse drug events


METHODS
(1) The introduction of a junior doctor prescribing tutorial. (2) The introduction of a bedside prescribing guideline.


RESULTS
The introduction of the junior doctor prescribing tutorial decreased the prescribing errors by 46%. The introduction of a bedside prescribing guideline did not decrease prescribing errors but may have been helpful to those doctors unable to attend a prescribing tutorial.


CONCLUSIONS
By investing time and providing appropriate written resources, we have been able to reduce our paediatric prescribing errors on the children's ward by almost half.
Davey
A L
AL
Airedale General Hospital, Skipton Road, Steeton, Keighley BD20 0HT, UK. amanda.davey@anhst.nhs.uk
Britland
A
A
Naylor
R J
RJ
D002983:Clinical Competence; D011307:Drug Prescriptions; D004502:Education, Medical, Continuing; D006769:Hospitals, General; D006801:Humans; D008508:Medication Errors / Q000517:prevention & control*; D009936:Organizational Innovation; D010372:Pediatrics / Q000193:education; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic; D010818:Practice Patterns, Physicians'; D006113:United Kingdom