A new study reveals that about 50% of prescriptions written by doctors in public hospitals contain errors. These irregularities occur in the quantity, duration and frequency of administration of drugs. Most of the errors were found in community medicine, ENT and pediatric departments. This can increase the cost of treatment and endanger the health of patients. The study suggests that doctors should be better trained and prescriptions should be regularly checked. Through this, these errors can be reduced.
Revealed in the study
The study found that there are many types of errors in doctors’ prescriptions. These include errors regarding the correct dosage of medicines, the duration of their intake and the frequency with which they should be taken. Serious errors were found in about 10% of the prescriptions, which could be dangerous for the health of patients. The study found that almost every second prescription written by doctors at leading government hospitals such as AIIMS and Safdarjung deviates from standard treatment guidelines. This study has been published in the Indian Journal of Medical Research.
Know where mistakes are made
The study found that the highest number of errors occur in community medicine, ENT and pediatric OPDs. In particular, more irregularities were found in the field of community medicine as these OPDs are run by junior doctors. This means that due to lack of experience, there are more errors in drug prescriptions. To improve it, better training and regular review are required.
Errors found in the leaflets
Know what mistakes doctors make
>A patient was given two antibiotics for an anal fissure, although it could have been treated with local drugs alone. This increased the cost of treatment and also increased the risk of antibiotic resistance. If we speak in simple words One patient was given two antibiotics for an anal fissure, when it could have been treated with a simple cream or gel. This made the treatment expensive and also increased the risk that the drugs would become less effective.
