Reducing prescribing errors and improving patient safety in primary and secondary health care.

  • Peter Noyce (Participant)
  • Ashcroft, Darren (Participant)
  • Mary Tully (Participant)
  • Lewis, Penny (Participant)
  • Judith Cantrill (Participant)
  • Caroline Morris (Participant)
  • Eden, Martin (Participant)
  • Timothy Dornan (Participant)

Impact: Health impacts

Narrative

Patient safety research from Manchester Pharmacy School at the University of Manchester (UoM) has reduced prescription errors in primary and secondary care. Pharmacists using our indicators with patients’ electronic health records (aimed at preventing drug-related morbidity in general practices) reduced the odds of prescribing and monitoring problems by at least 22%. These indicators are now incorporated into ‘medicines optimisation’ software for general practice computer systems. The EQUIP study led changes in the recommended design of hospital prescription charts, an annual national assessment of prescribing competence of medical students and the employment of extra hospital pharmacists to prevent the 9% of prescriptions with errors from harming patients.
Impact date2014
Category of impactHealth impacts
Impact levelBenefit

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