Electronic prescribing in paediatric secondary care: are harmful errors prevented?. Issue 9 (7th September 2019)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Fox, Andy; Portlock, Jane; Brown, David
• Is Part Of: Archives of disease in childhood. Volume 104:Issue 9(2019)
• Page Start: 895
• Publication Date: 2019-09-07
• Subjects: general paediatrics -- neonatology -- pharmacology; Children -- Diseases -- Periodicals; Infants -- Diseases -- Periodicals; 618.920005
• DOI: 10.1136/archdischild-2019-316859
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0003-9888

Abstract

Abstract : Objective: The aim of this research was to ascertain the effectiveness of current electronic prescribing (EP) systems to prevent a standardised set of paediatric prescribing errors likely to cause harm if they reach the patient. Design: Semistructured survey. Setting: UK hospitals using EP in the paediatric setting. Outcome measures: Number and type of erroneous orders able to be prescribed, and the level of clinical decision support (CDS) provided during the prescribing process. Results: 90.7% of the erroneous orders were able to be prescribed across the seven different EP systems tested. Levels of CDS varied between systems and between sites using the same system. Conclusions: EP systems vary in their ability to prevent harmful prescribing errors in the hospital paediatric setting. Differences also occur between sites using the same system, highlighting the importance of how a system is set up and optimised.