ArticleThe British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners2013
The prevalence and nature of prescribing and monitoring errors in English general practice: a retrospective case note review.
Article in The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners, 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 72 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
72 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Patient safety measures for virtual consultations in primary care: a systematic review.BMJ quality & safety · 2026Pooled it
- Economic Evaluations of Medication Safety Interventions in Primary and Long-Term Care: A Systematic Review.PharmacoEconomics · 2026Pooled it
- Lists of potentially inappropriate medications for older people in primary care: a systematic review of health outcomes.Cadernos de saude publica · 2024Pooled it
- Developing a measure of polypharmacy appropriateness in primary care: systematic review and expert consensus study.BMC medicine · 2018Pooled it
- Ambulatory Medication Safety in Primary Care: A Systematic Review.Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine : JABFMPooled it
- A tailored programme to implement recommendations for multimorbid patients with polypharmacy in primary care practices-process evaluation of a cluster randomized trial.Implementation science : IS · 2017Trial
- Impact of a tailored program on the implementation of evidence-based recommendations for multimorbid patients with polypharmacy in primary care practices-results of a cluster-randomized controlled trial.Implementation science : IS · 2017Trial
- Medication incidents in primary care medicine: protocol of a study by the Swiss Federal Sentinel Reporting System.BMJ open · 2015Trial
- Cross-cultural and international barriers and enablers to medication safety and pharmacotherapy: insights from a World Café study on interprofessional education.European journal of clinical pharmacology · 2026Article
- Patient Safety in Family Medicine through the Eyes of People with Chronic Conditions in Slovenia.Zdravstveno varstvo · 2026Article
- Medication safety in family caregiving of older adults: home visits including interviews, observations, and medication reviews.BMC geriatrics · 2026Article
- Prescribing variation across Europe: Insights into prescribing practices and educational needs.British journal of clinical pharmacology · 2026Article
- Article
- The associations of consultant sex on herding‑like prescribing behaviour: evidence from a web-based experiment with female primary care physicians in England.BMC medicine · 2026Article
- Machine learning for medication error detection: a scoping review.Research square · 2026Article
- Prevalence and predictors of prescribing errors in a primary care setting in Ghana.Therapeutic advances in drug safety · 2026Article
- Prescription Errors in a Mental Healthcare Facility: A Content Analysis of Brief Interviews.Acta medica Philippina · 2026Article
- Burnout, depression, and medication errors among family physicians.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Therapeutic reasoning in case reports: Insights into current reporting and learning opportunities.British journal of clinical pharmacology · 2025Review
- Understanding factors that influence the drug choice of prescribers: A Q-methodology study.British journal of clinical pharmacology · 2025Article
12 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
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Abstract
backgroundRelatively little is known about prescribing errors in general practice, or the factors associated with error.
aimTo determine the prevalence and nature of prescribing and monitoring errors in general practices in England. DESIGN AND
settingRetrospective case-note review of unique medication items prescribed over a 12-month period to a 2% random sample of patients. Fifteen general practices across three primary care trusts in England.
methodA total of 6048 unique prescription items prescribed over the previous 12 months for 1777 patients were examined. The data were analysed by mixed effects logistic regression. The main outcome measures were prevalence of prescribing and monitoring errors, and severity of errors, using validated definitions.
resultsPrescribing and/or monitoring errors were detected in 4.9% (296/6048) of all prescription items (95% confidence interval [CI] = 4.4% to 5.5%). The vast majority of errors were of mild to moderate severity, with 0.2% (11/6048) of items having a severe error. After adjusting for covariates, patient-related factors associated with an increased risk of prescribing and/or monitoring errors were: age <15 years (odds ratio [OR] = 1.87, 95% CI = 1.19 to 2.94, P = 0.006) or >64 years (OR = 1.68, 95% CI = 1.04 to 2.73, P = 0.035), and higher numbers of unique medication items prescribed (OR = 1.16, 95% CI = 1.12 to 1.19, P<0.001).
conclusionPrescribing and monitoring errors are common in English general practice, although severe errors are unusual. Many factors increase the risk of error. Having identified the most common and important errors, and the factors associated with these, strategies to prevent future errors should be developed, based on the study findings.
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