ArticleDrug safety2002
Cost-benefit analysis of the detection of prescribing errors by hospital pharmacy staff.
Article in Drug safety, 2002. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 13 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
13 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Tools for Assessing Potential Significance of Pharmacist Interventions: A Systematic Review.Drug safety · 2016Pooled it
- Measuring the severity of prescribing errors: a systematic review.Drug safety · 2013Pooled it
- Features predicting the success of computerized decision support for prescribing: a systematic review of randomized controlled trials.BMC medical informatics and decision making · 2009Pooled it
- Prevalence, incidence and nature of prescribing errors in hospital inpatients: a systematic review.Drug safety · 2009Pooled it
- A novel approach to medicines optimisation post-discharge from hospital: pharmacist-led medicines optimisation clinic.International journal of clinical pharmacy · 2020Trial
- Effectiveness of Six Sigma in Managing Medical Errors in the Electronic Drug Administration Record (EDAR) System.Cureus · 2025Article
- Economic impact of clinical pharmacist interventions in a general tertiary hospital in Qatar.PloS one · 2023Article
- Medication reconciliation for patients undergoing spinal surgery.European spine journal : official publication of the European Spine Society, the European Spinal Deformity Society, and the European Section of the Cervical Spine Research Society · 2016Article
- Nature, occurrence and consequences of medication-related adverse events during hospitalization: a retrospective chart review in the Netherlands.Drug safety · 2010Article
- Comment on 'prevalence, incidence and nature of prescribing errors in hospital inpatients: a systematic review'.Drug safety · 2010Article
- [Frequency, relevance, causes of and strategies for prevention of medication errors].Zeitschrift fur Gerontologie und Geriatrie · 2005Article
- The incidence of prescribing errors in hospital inpatients: an overview of the research methods.Drug safety · 2005Review
- Analysis of clinical pharmacist interventions in a tertiary teaching hospital in Brazil.Einstein (Sao Paulo, Brazil)Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectivePrescribing errors are a major cause of iatrogenic patient morbidity and therefore interventions aimed at preventing the adverse outcomes of these errors are likely to result in cost reduction. However, it is unclear whether the costs associated with these preventive measures are outweighed by the cost reductions (benefits). Therefore, a study was set up to analyse costs and benefits of detecting prescribing errors by hospital pharmacy staff.
designDuring 5 consecutive days in two Dutch hospitals in February 2000 all medication orders, in which prescribing errors were detected, were analysed. A cost-benefit analysis was performed, based on direct medical costs only. The benefit-to-cost ratio was calculated by taking into account the net time hospital pharmacy staff needed for the prevention of the error (this included potential time saving for nursing staff, when an error was prevented by hospital pharmacy staff instead of nursing staff), as well as taking into account the possible consequences of the prescribing error (were the error not prevented).
resultsA total of 3540 orders, of which 351 contained prescribing errors (9.9%), were analysed. During the 1-week period investigated, time-investment of the pharmacy staff had net costs of EUR285 (2000 values). During the same period estimated benefits related to this investment were EUR9867. The finding of higher benefits than costs was robust in sensitivity analysis.
conclusionsFrom this study it can be concluded that prevention of prescribing errors by hospital pharmacy staff results in higher benefits than the costs related to the net time investment.
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Identifiers
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.