Medication errors in a municipal hospital in inland of Bahia (Brazil). An analysis of the prescription and drug scheduling

Abstract

In most cases, it is necessary have a prescription to access medicines. The prescription must be free of errors so that safety and effectiveness of medicines are not compromised. Objective: To stablish the frequency and characteristics of prescribing error and drug scheduling errors in a Municipal Hospital of Bahia to propose strategies for rational prescription. Method: Observational, descriptive and quantitative study, which were analyzed all prescriptions for patients admitted during in the months of August and September 2013. Results: In 1,2 % of prescriptions, was impossible to identify the sex of the patient; the full name of the patient not appeared in 4,3 %; 34,2 % did not include the bed number or registration number; 1,9 % do not contain the date and the identification of the prescriber. 79,8 % of the drugs were with inadequate denominations; 15,2% and 4,3% contained, respectively, the concentration and pharmaceutical form of inappropriate medications; 22,6% of requirements contained acronyms and 12,1% of inadequate administration schedule. Conclusion: The occurrence of prescription and drug scheduling errors is high in the hospital studied and its consequences are potentially serious. In view of these results, were implemented strategies to promote rational prescription, aiming to minimize the occurrence of medication errors in the prescription context.