A Cross-sectional Study on Occurrence of Medication Errors in Outpatient Pediatric Department of Public Sector Hospital, Lahore, Pakistan

Background: The knowledge of medication errors is an essential prerequisite for better healthcare delivery. Medication errors are potential errors and impart a significant burden on patient quality of life as well as economic status. Objectives: The study was conducted with objective to determine the prevalence and nature of medication errors in pediatric out-patients and also to study their prescribing pattern. Methods: A quantitative cross-sectional study was conducted in Outpatient Pediatric Department of Public Sector Hospital, Lahore, Pakistan over a period of one month during which 240 prescriptions were evaluated to identify medication errors and prescribing pattern. Data was collected by using a self-designed data collection tool and analyzed using SPSS version 20. Results: Current study evaluated 240 outpatient prescription orders out of which 234 were found to have medication errors. Highest percentage of errors observed in studied population including prescription errors (missed prescriber and patient information) (86.8%), prescribing errors (7.6%) and dispensing errors (3.6%) respectively. Upper Respiratory Tract Infection was the extensive complaint of majority of patients and the drugs of concern were mainly antibiotics, antihistamines, analgesics and anti-inflammatory and expectorants. Conclusion: The current detection of medication errors reveals about recurrent basis of prescribing errors in addition to prescription parts errors. These findings emphasizes that prescribers need to work in alliance with pharmacist to improve patient’s quality of life in primary care. Key words: Medication error, Pediatric, Outpatient, Prescription.