Table 2.
Prescribing error rates per medication order written by prescriber and prescribing stage
| Prescriber | Description | On admission | During stay | When drug chart re-written | At discharge | Missing | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY1 | Orders written | 14,487 | 10,365 | 7567 | 16,271 | 1326 | 50,016 |
| Errors (n) | 1936 | 919 | 312 | 1032 | 87 | 4286 | |
| Errors [% (95 % CI)] | 13.4 (12.4–14.3) | 8.9 (8.2–9.5) | 4.1 (3.5–4.8) | 6.3 (5.8–6.9) | 6.6 (4.8–8.3) | 8.6 (8.2–8.9) | |
| FY2 | Orders written | 14,259 | 7089 | 4008 | 8127 | 1229 | 34,712 |
| Errors (n) | 2144 | 610 | 132 | 548 | 112 | 3546 | |
| Errors [% (95 % CI)] | 15.0 (14.1–16) | 8.6 (7.7–9.5) | 3.3 (2.7–3.9) | 6.7 (6–7.5) | 9.1 (7–11.2) | 10.2 (9.7–10.7) | |
| FTSTAs | Orders written | 6612 | 4929 | 1901 | 2782 | 539 | 16,763 |
| Errors (n) | 777 | 294 | 89 | 161 | 37 | 1358 | |
| Errors [% (95 % CI)] | 11.8 (10.5–13) | 6.0 (5.1–6.8) | 4.7 (3.3–6.1) | 5.8 (4.5–7.1) | 6.9 (4.2–9.5) | 8.1 (7.5–8.7) | |
| NCCGs | Orders written | 1261 | 1433 | 819 | 622 | 239 | 4374 |
| Errors (n) | 125 | 78 | 29 | 37 | 10 | 279 | |
| Errors [% (95 % CI)] | 9.9 (7.1–12.7) | 5.4 (4.1–6.8) | 3.5 (0.3–6.8) | 5.9 (3.3–8.6) | 4.2 (1.4–7) | 6.4 (5.2–7.6) | |
| Consultants | Orders written | 1072 | 1424 | 168 | 446 | 108 | 3218 |
| Errors (n) | 53 | 67 | 6 | 25 | 2 | 153 | |
| Errors [% (95 % CI)] | 4.9 (3–6.9) | 4.7 (3.6–5.8) | 3.6 (0–7.4) | 5.6 (3.2–8.1) | 1.9 (0–4.5) | 4.8 (3.8–5.7) | |
| Pharmacist prescribers | Orders written | 12 | 41 | 131 | 3 | 187 | |
| Errors (n) | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | ||
| Errors [% (95 % CI)] | 50.0 (0–101.7) | 0.0 (–) | 0.0 (–) | 0.0 (–) | 3.2 (0–7.2) | ||
| Nurses prescribers | Orders written | 456 | 366 | 32 | 114 | 56 | 1024 |
| Errors (n) | 21 | 22 | 0 | 6 | 4 | 53 | |
| Errors [% (95 % CI)] | 4.6 (2.3–6.9) | 6.0 (2.1–9.9) | 0.0 (–) | 5.3 (0.7–9.9) | 7.1 (0.1–14.2) | 5.2 (3.3–7) | |
| Missing prescriber details | Orders written | 6337 | 3367 | 694 | 3009 | 559 | 13,966 |
| Errors (n) | 848 | 192 | 30 | 180 | 55 | 1305 | |
| Errors [% (95 % CI)] | 13.4 (11.9–14.8) | 5.7 (4.7–6.7) | 4.3 (2.2–6.5) | 6.0 (4.8–7.2) | 9.8 (5.9–13.8) | 9.3 (8.6–10.1) | |
| Total | Orders written | 44,496 | 29,014 | 15,189 | 31,502 | 4059 | 12,4260 |
| Errors (n) | 5910 | 2182 | 598 | 1989 | 307 | 10,986 | |
| Errors [% (95 % CI)] | 13.3 (12.8–0) | 7.5 (7.1–7.9) | 3.9 (3.5–4.4) | 6.3 (5.9–6.7) | 7.6 (6.5–8.7) | 8.8 (8.6–9.1) |
CI confidence interval, FY foundation year 1 or 2 medical trainee, FTSTA fixed-term specialty training medical appointment, NCCGs non-consultant career grade medical staff