Reducing Prescribing Errors in Paediatric Patients by Assessment and Feedback Targeted at Prescribers

Table 2

Results of audits of all drug charts with errors in prescribing before and after assessment of prescribing skills with feedback in September 2008.

	Audit 21.04.2008 to 16.05.2008 (number of emergency admissions 𝑛=421)	Reaudit 01.11.2008 to 30.11.2008 (number of emergency admissions 𝑛=588)
Total number of errors (per 100 emergency admissions)	188 (47)	120 (21)^1
Number of patients with drug errors on their charts (per 100 emergency admissions)	79 (19)	67 (11)^2
Major errors^3 (per 100 emergency admissions)	36 (8)	35(6)^4

¹Statistical comparison not possible as variable number of errors per admission.
²Chi-square test: Chi-square 10.77, 𝑃 value = 0.001.
³Defined as prescribing a drug the patient is allergic to, prescription of the wrong dose or unit, guessing the dose a patient has been on, not prescribing a required drug, and choice of the wrong frequency for application of a drug.
⁴Chi-square test: chi-square 2.53, 𝑃 value = 0.11.