title: Assessment of legibility and completeness of handwritten and electronic prescriptions.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To assess the legibility and completeness of handwritten prescriptions and compare with electronic prescription system for medication errors.
  
  
  METHODS
  Prospective study.
  
  
  METHODS
  King Khalid University Hospital (KKUH), Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
  
  
  METHODS
  Handwritten prescriptions were received from clinical units of Medicine Outpatient Department (MOPD), Primary Care Clinic (PCC) and Surgery Outpatient Department (SOPD) whereas electronic prescriptions were collected from the pediatric ward. The handwritten prescription was assessed for completeness by the checklist designed according to the hospital prescription and evaluated for legibility by two pharmacists. The comparison between handwritten and electronic prescription errors was evaluated based on the validated checklist adopted from previous studies.
  
  
  METHODS
  Legibility and completeness of prescriptions.
  
  
  RESULTS
  398 prescriptions (199 handwritten and 199 e-prescriptions) were assessed. About 71 (35.7%) of handwritten and 5 (2.5%) of electronic prescription errors were identified. A significant statistical difference (P < 0.001) was observed between handwritten and e-prescriptions in omitted dose and omitted route of administration category of error distribution. The rate of completeness in patient identification in handwritten prescriptions was 80.97% in MOPD, 76.36% in PCC and 85.93% in SOPD clinic units. Assessment of medication prescription completeness was 91.48% in MOPD, 88.48% in PCC, and 89.28% in SOPD.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study revealed a high incidence of prescribing errors in handwritten prescriptions. The use of e-prescription system showed a significant decline in the incidence of errors. The legibility of handwritten prescriptions was relatively good whereas the level of completeness was very low.
authors.affiliation: College of Medicine, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Ahmed I
authors.initials: AI
authors.lastname: Albarrak
authors.affiliation: College of Medicine, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Eman Abdulrahman
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Al Rashidi
authors.affiliation: College of Medicine, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Rwaa Kamil
authors.initials: RK
authors.lastname: Fatani
authors.affiliation: College of Medicine, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Shoog Ibrahim
authors.initials: SI
authors.lastname: Al Ageel
authors.affiliation: College of Medicine, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Rafiuddin
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Mohammed
keywords: Electronic prescription; Handwritten prescription; Legibility; Medication errors