Keynote 2 – Medicines management and patient safety : understanding the frequency, nature and causes of prescribing errors in hospitals

Abstract:

Drug-related morbidity represents a substantial burden on limited health care resources. In practice, medication problems are often not pharmacological, but rather the result of failures in the medicines management system to provide the right drug for the right diagnosis to the right patient and in the right way. This keynote lecture will present findings from the EQUIP study (Errors – Questioning Undergraduate Impact on Prescribing) that has recently been completed and consisted of an amalgam of data drawn from three systematic review, a prevalence study involving clinical pharmacists from 20 UK hospitals and qualitative data derived from doctors involved with prescribing errors.

Teaching goals:

The presentation will focus on:

– Identifying key challenges facing safe prescribing in the hospital setting

– Understanding the frequency of prescribing errors and factors associated with their occurrence

Learning objectives:

The delegates should be able to:

– Identify the main targets for interventions to improve patient safety by minimising prescribing errors