Publication

Abstract : Dispensing is an integral part of drug therapy and errors in it can cause some majorcomplications. This study was aimed to assess the prevalence and determine the various types ofdispensing errors occurring in inpatient prescriptions; also to create awareness among thepharmacy professionals about the various types of dispensing errors and thus help to minimizethem. The present study is a prospective one which involves the inpatient prescriptions from aperiod of Dec 2007 to September 2008. The prescriptions of the patients admitted in the generalwards were included in the study. The errors reported by the nurses, were documented by thepharmacist in a dispensing error report form. All the documented errors were collected,analyzed and categorized into the various types. The frequency of occurrence of different typesof dispensing errors was calculated. The incidence of dispensing errors was found to be 4.8%and the most frequent type of dispensing error was found to be wrong medication (43.1%)