INNOVATIONS in pharmacy

Assessment of Legibility of Handwritten Prescriptions and Adherence to W.H.O. Prescription Writing Guidelines in Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital Zaria – Kaduna State, Nigeria

Abba Khalid Abdullahi

Department of Pharmaceutics and Industrial Pharmacy; Pharmaceutical Services, Ahmadu Bello University Zaria

Ibrahim Seneire Fatima

Department of Pharmaceutical Services; Pharmacognosy and Drug Development, Ahmadu Bello University Zaria

Umar Abdurrahman

Department of Pharmaceutical Services; Pharmaceutical and Medicinal Chemistry, Ahmadu Bello University Zaria

Salihu Isa Sa’adatu

Department of Pharmaceutical Services; Pharmaceutics and Industrial Pharmacy, Ahmadu Bello University Zaria

Abubakar Bukhari Hafsat

Department of Pharmaceutical Services, Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital Zaria

Haruna Abdullahi Abdulrasheed

Department of Pharmaceutical Services; Pharmaceutical and Medicinal Chemistry, Ahmadu Bello University Zaria

Umar Abubakar

Department of Pharmaceutical Services, Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital Zaria

Igashi Dorcas

Department of Pharmaceutical Services, Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital Zaria

Sanni Hameed Kehinde

Department of Pharmaceutical Services, Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital Zaria

Adam Ibrahim Bashir

Department of Pharmaceutical Services; Pharmaceutics and Industrial Pharmacy, Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital Zaria

Muhammad Kabir Musa

Department of Pharmaceutical Services; Pharmaceutics and Industrial Pharmacy, Ahmadu Bello University Zaria; Department of Medicine, Nazarbayev University School of Medicine Astana, Kazakhstan

DOI: https://doi.org/10.24926/iip.v14i1.5164

Keywords: Prescriber, Patient, Legibility, Medication error, WHO prescription writing guidelines

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Abstract

Introduction: The issues of incorrectness and incompleteness for written prescriptions may result to dispensing errors and unintended outcomes of care. The objective of the study was to assess the legibility of handwritten prescriptions and adherence to W.H.O. prescription writing guidelines in Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital Zaria.

Method: A cross-sectional prospective study design was used, and existing prescriptions were sampled from selected in-patient and outpatient pharmacy units of Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital Zaria. This was approved by the ethics and research committee of the institution. The prescriptions were then evaluated for quality based on the layout, legibility, and clarity of the details in the prescriptions and screened for medication errors.

Result: The extent of prescribing drugs by generic name was (68.37%), the legibility percentage was moderate and the percentage of prescriptions in which details of the drug, route of administration, and duration of treatment were complete was 85.23%, 80.80%, and 82.40%, respectively. The doctor's signature (84.87%) was present in the prescriptions. Many of the prescribers did not use to indicate patients’ weight, age, and clinic on prescriptions, these are deviations from good prescribing practices while total medication error was 38.01%.

Conclusion: Prescribers have a duty of care to their patient and a professional duty to their colleagues (pharmacists) to ensure drug prescriptions are readily identifiable. Interventional techniques such as the use of printed or electronic prescriptions can improve the ease of interpreting information and reduce medication errors.