Prescribing information sources for healthcare professionals

Abstract

It has been estimated that potential errors relating to prescribing and monitoring of medicines occur in 5% of items prescribed in general practice.1 In hospitals, a cross-sectional study across nine hospitals reported an error rate of 11%.2 An analysis of prescribing errors made by foundation trainee doctors in hospitals found that the two most common causes of prescribing error were a lack of knowledge and inappropriate extrapolation of knowledge about medicines.3 Therefore, it is important that prescribers have immediate access to high quality evidence-based information about medicines that is up to date, accurate and practical to ensure that drugs are prescribed safely and effectively. In this article, we highlight freely accessible resources that provide prescribing information about medicines and other sources of specialised information that may be needed when more detail is required.

The Quality and Reliability of Information in the Summaries of Product Characteristics

“…Potential prescribing and monitoring errors were estimated to occur for 5% of items prescribed in general practice. Mistakes made by doctors in training in hospitals are most often due to a lack of knowledge and the inappropriate presentation of drug information [ 20 ]. It is therefore important that prescribers have ongoing access to high-quality, evidence-based drug information that is timely, accurate, and practical to ensure safe and effective prescribing.…”