Nature and frequency of prescription modifications: An evaluation from the community pharmacy

Abstract

Medication errors can occur at any point in the medication use process. The present study was undertaken to investigate the frequency and nature of prescription modifications and pharmacist's interventions outcomes at the community pharmacy. A descriptive and prospective study was conducted and data were structured by all prescriptions that were modified by the pharmacy during the study. All medicines were classified into therapeutic groups using the Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical classification. A total of 20,205 prescriptions were processed during the study and the overall incidence of modifications by the community pharmacy was 10.9 % (2216 prescriptions). The majority (1676; 75.6%) of the reasons for the medications concerned the clarification of an insufficiently specified prescription. Drug-drug interaction (32.5%), contraindication (6.5%) or double medications (40.6%) were prevalent. The findings of this study reinforce the importance of prescription screening and interventions by pharmacists in reduce preventable adverse events attributed to medication errors. It also emphasizes the necessity of interdisciplinary communication and cooperation in identifying and resolving prescribing errors and irregularities in order to achieve optimal therapeutic outcomes for the patient.