Prescribing and monitoring errors are common in primary care, according to a newly published study involving 949,552 adults from 526 GP practices in the UK.

One in 20 patients (5.26 per cent) taking drugs such as anticoagulants, NSAIDs, beta-blockers and combined contraceptives showed at least one indicator of a prescribing error. One in eight (11.8 per cent) showed at least one indicator suggesting inadequate monitoring of drugs such as ACE inhibitors and loop diuretics, methotrexate, lithium and warfarin.

Older patients and people prescribed multiple repeat medications were significantly more likely to show an indicator of a prescribing error. Younger patients with fewer repeat prescriptions had a significantly higher risk of an indicator suggesting inadequate monitoring.

Some prescriptions that triggered a safety indicator might have been clinically justified but the prevalence of potentially high-risk prescribing and lack of appropriate monitoring varied markedly between practices. This suggests a “potential for improvement through targeted practice level intervention”.

The authors add that the “results emphasise the need to give due consideration to the risks of prescribing multiple medications and the importance of regular medication reviews, especially for patients with multiple morbidity”.

^{(BMJ 2015; 351:h5501)}

Medication reviews will reduce prescribing errors