title: Identifying medication errors in surgical prescription charts.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Each year 200 million prescriptions for children and adolescents are issued in the UK, with a 1.5 per cent prevalence of errors.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To identify and quantify medication errors on surgical children's prescription charts over a four-month period at two hospital sites.
  
  
  METHODS
  Retrospective review of the prescription charts of 175 children at a children's hospital and a children's unit.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Errors totalled 301, the most common was overwriting of a prescription, the least common was incorrect dates. No resulting adverse events were recorded.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The prevalence of errors needs to be reduced to avoid serious adverse incidents. Computerised physician order entry systems are discussed as a potential solution.
authors.affiliation: Department of Health and Social Care, Faculty of Health and Social Care, The Open University, Milton Keynes.
authors.forename: Joan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Simons
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D011307:Drug Prescriptions / Q000451:nursing*; D006776:Hospitals, Pediatric; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D050316:Medical Order Entry Systems; D008499:Medical Records; D008508:Medication Errors / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008510:Medication Systems, Hospital; D009731:Nursing Audit; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D006113:United Kingdom