Prescriptions error warning

Professor Tony Avery, who led the research on prescription errors, has said that mistakes creep because of the time pressures on GPs and the fact that prescribing often happens at the end of a consultation when time is short.

The author of a report into errors in prescriptions has said that "prescribing is a skill" which he advised doctors to "take time to develop and keep up-to-date". Professor Tony Avery of the University of Nottingham's medical school, said:

Researchers who concluded that one in 20 prescriptions are in error also found that GPs take prescribing very seriously. They blame deficiencies in training, time pressures and lack of robust systems for ensuring that patients receive necessary blood tests.

One in eight of all patients had a prescription with an error, although the level of risk depends of these factors:

• Age - children and people over 75 are almost twice as likely to be affected
• Number of medications - there is a 16% increased risk for each additional medicine

Those between the ages of 15 and 64, and on not many medications, are least likely to be affected.

Around one in 20 prescriptions written by family doctors contains an error, a medical watchdog has warned. Around one in every 550 items was judged to contain a serious error.

The most common of the prescribing or monitoring errors were lack of information on dosage, prescribing an incorrect dosage and failing to ensure that patients were properly checked with blood tests.

The research was commissioned by the General Medical Council (GMC).