Situations that should be included as prescribing errors
| Scenario | Results | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Round 1*Median (IQR) | Round 2*Median (IQR) | Code | |
| IQR, interquartile range; C, consensus; P, partial agreement; N/A, not available. | |||
| *Scoring ranges from 1 to 9. | |||
| †Scenarios that are common practice. | |||
| Prescribing a drug based on the weight of the patient and not writing the final calculated dose in the prescription sheet based on that weight | 9 (2) | N/A | C |
| Writing illegibly | 9 (1) | N/A | C |
| Prescribing a drug to a patient while the patient has a known allergy to that drug | 9 (0.25) | N/A | C |
| Prescribing a drug to a child without documenting the weight of the child on the prescription sheet | 7 (4.25) | 7 (3.5) | P |
| Prescribing a drug to a patient without adjusting for renal insufficiency | 9 (2) | N/A | C |
| Misspelling a drug name | 7 (3.5) | 7 (2) | C |
| Prescribing a dose regimen (dose/frequency) that is not that recommended for the formulation prescribed | 7 (3) | 7 (2.5) | P |
| Continuing a prescription for a longer duration than necessary | 7 (2) | N/A | C |
| Unintentionally not prescribing a drug for a clinical condition for which medication is indicated | 8 (3) | 8 (2) | C |
| Prescribing a drug that should be given at specific times in relation to meals without specifying this information on the prescription† | 7 (4) | 7 (1.5) | C |
| Prescribing a drug to be given by intermittent intravenous infusion without specifying the duration over which it is to be infused | 7 (3) | 8 (2) | C |
| Prescribing a drug with a narrow therapeutic index in a dose predicted to give serum levels above the desired therapeutic range | 8 (2) | N/A | C |
| Writing an ambiguous medication order | 9 (1) | N/A | C |
| Prescribing a drug to be given by intermittent intravenous infusion in a diluent that is incompatible with the drug prescribed | 9 (0) | N/A | C |
| Writing a prescription for a drug with a narrow therapeutic index in a dose predicted to give serum levels below the desired therapeutic range | 8 (2) | N/A | C |
| Omission of the prescriber’s signature | 9 (1) | N/A | C |
| Prescribing a drug without taking into account a potentially significant drug interaction | 9 (0) | N/A | C |
| Continuing a drug in the event of a clinically significant adverse drug reaction | 9 (1.25) | N/A | C |
| Prescription of a drug in a potentially subtherapeutic dose | 7 (2.25) | 8 (2) | C |
| Writing a drug’s name using abbreviations or other non- standard nomenclature† | 9 (1) | N/A | C |
| Prescribing a drug for a patient who has a specific contraindication to its use | 9 (1) | N/A | C |
| Prescribing a drug to a patient without adjusting for body size | 8 (2) | N/A | C |
| Prescribing to a patient a dose that is not within ±25% of the recommended dose | 7 (3) | 7 (2) | C |
| Prescribing a dose that is calculated based on an out of date body weight | 9 (2) | N/A | C |
| Prescribing a drug to a patient without adjusting for age | 7 (3) | 7 (2) | C |
| Prescribing a drug to be taken when required, without specifying the maximum daily dose of the drug prescribed in the prescription† | N/A | 8 (2) | C |
| Not rewriting a prescription in full if a change has been made to it (e.g. dosage increase or change in frequency)† | N/A | 7 (2.5) | P |