Faculty of Pharmacy and Medical Sciences, University of Petra, Amman, Jordan.
Division of Pharmacy and Optometry, The University of Manchester, Manchester, UK.
Int J Clin Pharm. 2021 Feb;43(1):165-173. doi: 10.1007/s11096-020-01126-w. Epub 2020 Aug 17.
Background Medication dispensing is a core function of community pharmacies, and errors that occur during the dispensing process are a major concern for pharmacy profession. However, to date there has been no national study of medication dispensing errors in Jordan. Objective The study aimed to investigate the incidence, nature, severity, causes and predictors of medication dispensing errors. Setting The study was conducted in randomly selected community pharmacies across Jordan. Method A mixed method approach was taken, incorporating prospective disguised observation of dispensing errors and interviews with pharmacists regarding the causes of errors. A multidisciplinary committee evaluated the severity of errors. Proportionate random sampling was used to include 350 pharmacies from across all regions of Jordan. SPSS (Version 24) was used for data analysis. Main outcome measure Incidence, nature, severity, causes and predictors of medication dispensing errors. Results The overall rate of medication dispensing errors was 24.6% (n = 37,009/150,442), of which 11.5% (n = 17,352/150,442) were prescription related errors and 13.1% (n = 19,657/150,442) pharmacist counselling errors. The most common type of prescription-related errors were wrong quantity (37.9%, n = 6584/17,352), whereas the most common pharmacist counselling error was wrong drug (41.9%, n = 8241/19,657). The majority of errors were caused by poor handwriting (30.7%, n = 75,651/37,009), followed by high workload (17.3%, n = 22,964/37,009). More than half of errors (52.6%) were moderate in severity, followed by minor errors (38.8%), and 8.6% of errors were rated as serious. Predictors of medication dispensing errors were: Sundays (OR 2.7; 95% CI 2.15-3.94; p = 0.02), grade A pharmacies (dispensing ≥ 60 prescriptions a day (OR 3.6; 95% CI 2.89-4.78; p = 0.04)), and prescriptions containing ≥ 4 medication orders (OR 4.1; 95% CI 2.9-6.4; p = 0.001). Conclusion Medication dispensing errors are common in Jordan and our findings can be generalised and considered as a reference to launch training programmes on safe medication dispensing and independent prescribing for pharmacists.
配药是社区药房的核心功能，配药过程中出现的错误是药剂师行业关注的主要问题。然而，迄今为止，约旦还没有全国性的配药错误研究。目的：研究旨在调查配药错误的发生率、性质、严重程度、原因和预测因素。地点：研究在约旦随机选择的社区药房进行。方法：采用混合方法，包括对配药错误进行前瞻性伪装观察和采访药剂师了解错误原因。一个多学科委员会评估了错误的严重程度。采用比例随机抽样方法，从约旦各地选取 350 家药店。使用 SPSS（版本 24）进行数据分析。主要观察指标：配药错误的发生率、性质、严重程度、原因和预测因素。结果：配药错误的总发生率为 24.6%（n=37009/150442），其中 11.5%（n=17352/150442）与处方有关，13.1%（n=19657/150442）是药剂师咨询错误。最常见的处方相关错误是数量错误（37.9%，n=6584/17352），而最常见的药剂师咨询错误是药物错误（41.9%，n=8241/19657）。大多数错误是由于字迹潦草（30.7%，n=75651/37009）引起的，其次是工作量大（17.3%，n=22964/37009）。超过一半的错误（52.6%）为中度严重程度，其次是轻度错误（38.8%），8.6%的错误为严重程度。配药错误的预测因素为：周日（OR 2.7；95%CI 2.15-3.94；p=0.02）、A级药房（每天配药量≥60 份处方（OR 3.6；95%CI 2.89-4.78；p=0.04））和含有≥4种药物的处方（OR 4.1；95%CI 2.9-6.4；p=0.001）。结论：约旦的配药错误很常见，我们的发现可以推广并作为为药剂师启动安全配药和独立处方培训计划的参考。
