Assessment of handwritten prescriptions from Saudi Arabia according to international guidelines.

ABSTRACT:

Objective

Prescription dispensing services are not digitalized in the majority of governmental hospitals and private clinics in Saudi Arabia, which makes them prone to error. We aimed to evaluate handwritten prescriptions in a region in Saudi Arabia for consistency and accuracy according to international guidelines.

Methods

A sample of handwritten prescriptions (dated 2016 or 2017) from selected pharmacies in the Al-Qassim region (n = 556) were evaluated for missing information on items related to prescriber, patient, and medication according to the World Health Organization and Food and Drug Administration guidelines.

Results

We found that the prescriber's name and contact information were missing in two-thirds of the prescriptions (66%). Patients' addresses were alw

SUBMITTER: Youssef SM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7705798 | biostudies-literature | 2020

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature