Table 2.
Subgroup analysis of rates of prescribing errors in each category
| Category | Total | Prescriptions with error | Total error ratesa | P value | OR [95% CI] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. of drug orders per prescriptionb | 0.001c | 1.14 [1.06–1.23] | |||
| 1 | 70,540 | 200 | 0.28% | ||
| 2 | 40,630 | 124 | 0.31% | ||
| 3 | 22,101 | 101 | 0.46% | ||
| 4 | 11,215 | 52 | 0.46% | ||
| 5 | 5401 | 32 | 0.59% | ||
| 6 | 564 | 1 | 0.18% | ||
| 7 | 101 | 0 | 0.00% | ||
| 8 | 31 | 0 | 0.00% | ||
| 9 | 23 | 0 | 0.00% | ||
| 10 | 5 | 0 | 0.00% | ||
| Total | 150,611 | 510 | 0.34% | ||
| Age groups of patients | 0.09c | ||||
| Neonate (~ 28 days) | 6038 | 11 | 0.18% | Reference | |
| Infant (29 days to 12 months) | 17,218 | 72 | 0.42% | 0.01 | 2.33 [1.23–4.40] |
| Child (1 to 12 years) | 41,292 | 166 | 0.40% | 0.02 | 2.03 [1.10–3.76] |
| Adolescent (13 to 18 years) | 700 | 2 | 0.29% | 0.57 | 1.57 [0.34–7.36] |
| Adult (18 year~) | 85,363 | 259 | 0.30% | 0.42 | 1.43 [0.60–3.42] |
| Total | 150,611 | 510 | 0.34% | ||
| Seniority of physicians | 0.31c | ||||
| Junior | 11,960 | 36 | 0.30% | Reference | |
| Intermediate | 52,621 | 155 | 0.29% | 0.40 | 0.85 [0.58–1.24] |
| Senior | 86,030 | 319 | 0.37% | 0.98 | 0.99 [0.70–1.42] |
| Total | 150,611 | 510 | 0.34% | ||
| Specialty of physicians | < 0.001c | ||||
| Ophthalmology and otorhinolaryngology | 5615 | 39 | 0.69% | Reference | |
| Family planning | 13,421 | 75 | 0.56% | 0.78 | 1.11 [0.55–2.26] |
| General surgery | 4763 | 23 | 0.48% | 0.76 | 0.89 [0.40–1.94] |
| Pediatrics | 55,713 | 206 | 0.37% | < 0.001 | 0.45 [0.32–0.64] |
| General medicine | 3807 | 13 | 0.34% | 0.34 | 0.66 [0.28–1.55] |
| Reproductive medicine | 12,634 | 38 | 0.30% | 0.18 | 0.60 [0.28–1.27] |
| Gynecology | 33,962 | 86 | 0.25% | 0.04 | 0.49 [0.25–0.96] |
| Obstetrics | 16,702 | 26 | 0.16% | 0.003 | 0.31 [0.14–0.66] |
| Dermatology | 3994 | 4 | 0.10% | < 0.001 | 0.13 [0.05–0.37] |
| Total | 150,611 | 510 | 0.34% | ||
| Work day | < 0.001c | ||||
| Weekends | 30,534 | 72 | 0.24% | Reference | |
| Weekdays | 120,077 | 438 | 0.36% | < 0.001 | 1.65 [1.27–2.14] |
| Total | 150,611 | 510 | 0.34% | ||
| Workload | 0.97c | ||||
| Low | 75,862 | 268 | 0.35% | Reference | |
| High | 74,749 | 242 | 0.32% | 0.97 | 1.00 [0.83–1.19] |
| Total | 150,611 | 510 | 0.34% |
a The rates were calculated by no. of prescriptions with errors by total prescriptions in each subgroup
b The predictor of drug order was not taken into list box of categorical covariates at SPSS
c Total p value of each predictor from likelihood ratio test