Table 4.
Nature of prescription modifications in Dutch community pharmacies.
| Description | Prescription only medicines (n,%) (n = 1802) | Non-medicines (n,%) (n = 146) |
|---|---|---|
| Clarification needed | 1294 (71.8) | 141 (96.6) |
| Dose not specified (including use known) | 409 (22.7) | |
| No or insufficient patient data | 348 (19.3) | 8 (5.5) |
| Name or use of nonmedicine wrong or insufficiently specified | 127 (87.0) | |
| Wrong strength (mostly nonexisting or incorrect) | 125 (6.9) | |
| Strength not specified | 122 (6.8) | |
| Wrong dosage form | 110 (6.1) | |
| Number of tablets, capsules, etc. not specified or incorrect | 53 (2.9) | 5 (3.4) |
| Medicine, strength or dosage form not on the market | 43 (2.4) | 1 (0.7) |
| Dosage form not specified | 37 (2.1) | |
| Prescription not dispensed (patient still has enough supply) | 34 (1.9) | |
| Medicine not specified | 5 (0.3) | |
| Dosage form insufficiently specified | 8 (0.4) | |
| Correction prescription error | 400 (22.2) | |
| Wrong dose | 246 (13.7) | |
| Wrong medicine | 45 (2.5) | |
| Wrong patient data | 42 (2.3) | |
| Interaction with other medicines (one prescriber involved) | 11 (0.6) | |
| Contraindication allergy | 11 (0.6) | |
| Other contraindications | 9 (0.5) | |
| Medicine obsolete | 8 (0.4) | |
| Double medication * (one prescriber involved) | 9 (0.5) | |
| Double medication * (two prescribers involved) | 9 (0.5) | |
| Interaction with other medicines (two prescribers involved) | 4 (0.2) | |
| Too prolonged use of a medicine | 3 (0.2) | |
| Too short period of use | 2 (0.1) | |
| Contraindication pregnancy or lactation | 1 (0.1) | |
| Other | 108 (6.0) | 5 (3.4) |
| Prescription not dispensed (other reason than enough patient's supply) | 47 (2.6) | 5 (3.4) |
| Various | 61 (3.4) |
*
double medication is a combination of the same substance or different substances from the same therapeutic group.