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. 2019 Feb;40(2):158-167.
doi: 10.15537/smj.2019.2.23933.

Investigating the epidemiology of medication errors in adults in community care settings. A retrospective cohort study in central Saudi Arabia

Ghadah A Assiri  1 , Abdullah Hm Alkhenizan, Salma A Al-Khani, Liz M Grant, Aziz Sheikh
Affiliations

Investigating the epidemiology of medication errors in adults in community care settings. A retrospective cohort study in central Saudi Arabia

Ghadah A Assiri et al. Saudi Med J. 2019 Feb.

Abstract

Objectives: To investigate the period prevalence and risk factors for clinically important prescription and monitoring errors among adults managed in community care in Saudi Arabia (SA).

Methods: This retrospective cohort study used electronic health record (HER) data. A random sample comprising of 2,000 adults (≥18 years old) visiting Family Medicine clinics in King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center (KFSH & RC), Riyadh, SA, was selected. Data collection took 3 months (October December 2017). Descriptive analyses and logistic regression modeling were performed using STATA (version 14) statistical software. Results: The overall period prevalence of medication errors over 15 months was 8.1% (95% confidence interval [CI] 6.5-9.7). Risk factors that significantly predicted overall risk of patients experiencing one or more medication errors were: age ≥65 years, male gender, Saudi nationality, and polypharmacy (defined as the concurrent use of ≥5 drugs).

Conclusions: Clinically important medication errors were commonly observed in relation to both drug prescription and monitoring.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Cohort study flowchart outlines and sample enrollment.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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