Technological innovation for feedback delivery on prescribing errors
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Reducing prescribing errors: Technological innovation for feedback delivery
IRAS ID
191058
Contact name
Mary Tully
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
The University of Manchester
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
ethics/15541, University Research Ethics Committee reference number
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 8 months, 0 days
Research summary
Prescribing of medication is one of the most common interventions that patients receive when admitted to hospital. However, this is not always an error-free process. Prescribing errors can result in preventable adverse drug events, prolong hospital stay, increase the risk of death and cost the NHS around £750 million annually. In 20 hospitals in the north-west of England, pharmacists identified over 11,000 prescribing errors in 7 days of data collection. Opportunities to learn from their own (and others’) mistakes has been expressed by junior doctors.
We have designed a process whereby pharmacists collect information about prescribing errors, provide it to prescribers and provide them with opportunities to make personal action plans to change future prescribing behaviour. One small study with junior doctors showed a significant difference in some types of prescribing errors. Another subsequent small study was positively received by doctors of all grades, but that the group meetings were labour intensive to deliver and difficult to schedule within a busy clinical environment.
We are expanding this work to develop a technological solution (an app for use on a mobile phone/iPad) that will both deliver feedback data to prescribers and help them use it to change their own prescribing behaviour without the need for expert delivery or group meetings. We will tailor the app to two hospitals in Greater Manchester, and use regular audits of prescribing errors to assess its effectiveness. It will be explicitly aimed at all prescribers, not just doctors, making it a multidisciplinary training solution suitable for prescribers’ continued professional development. It will be specifically designed to require a low level of staff resources when used in practice. A technological solution to reduce prescribing errors will help to support staff in delivering safe, high quality care.
REC name
N/A
REC reference
N/A