Pharmacist education may cut junior doctor prescription errors

(HealthDay)—Pharmacist feedback and education is effective at reducing prescription writing errors by junior doctors in an inpatient setting, according to a study published online Jan. 24 in the Journal of Pharmacy Practice and Research.

Jared Gursanscky, M.D., from the University of Melbourne in Australia, and colleagues randomized four general medical units of an Australian tertiary hospital to prescribing feedback and targeted education by a clinical pharmacist; an e-learning intervention on safe prescribing; or no intervention for two units. Data on prescribing errors were collected daily via a chart audit.

The researchers found that prescription writing errors were significantly reduced in the pharmacist education group (P < 0.001), while there was an increase in the error rate in the control group (P < 0.001). There was a smaller increase in the error rate among the e-learning group (P = 0.025).

"Regular and targeted pharmacist feedback and education is effective at reducing prescription writing errors, while the effect of e-learning tools remains unclear," the authors write.