Factors associated with medication prescribing errors: Integrative review

Abstract

Medications are frequently used as therapeutic measures for many diseases. However, more than 50% of them are prescribed or dispensed inappropriately. Medication errors, which are common at the prescribing stage, include problems with writing, dosage, route or dose. Pharmacists are the professionals who can detect between 30% and 70% of these errors, which are divided into errors of omission (lack of essential information) and commission (incorrect information). These errors compromise the quality of patient care, especially when they are related to dosage. Thus, the objective of this study was to identify which factors are linked to medication prescription errors. This is an integrative review, whose research was carried out by consulting the following databases: PUBMED, SCIELO and LILACS, in a time frame from 2014 to 2024. Prescription becomes relevant for safe medication administration and pharmacotherapeutic monitoring. The errors found present a high risk to patient safety, and may result in ineffective pharmacotherapeutic treatment and possible adverse reactions. It is possible to highlight the need for interventions and implementation of strategies that are effective in preventing these errors, such as: digitalization of the medical prescription; identification of the patient; checking of data related to the medication; adoption of safe dispensing methods; the formation of a multidisciplinary health team with the participation of several health professionals, including the pharmacist, aiming to guarantee patient safety and adequate pharmacotherapy.