Impact of Illegible Prescriptions on Dispensing Practice: A Pilot Study of South African Pharmacy Personnel
Illegible prescriptions are an illegal, frequent, and longstanding problem for pharmacy personnel engaged in dispensing. These contribute to patient safety issues and negatively impact safe dispensing in pharmaceutical delivery. To date, little is documented on measures taken to assess the negative...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2022-10-01
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| Series: | Pharmacy |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2226-4787/10/5/132 |
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| author | Tasneem Modi Ntandoyenkosi Khumalo Rubina Shaikh Zelna Booth Stephanie Leigh-de Rapper Gillian Dumsile Mahumane |
| author_facet | Tasneem Modi Ntandoyenkosi Khumalo Rubina Shaikh Zelna Booth Stephanie Leigh-de Rapper Gillian Dumsile Mahumane |
| author_sort | Tasneem Modi |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Illegible prescriptions are an illegal, frequent, and longstanding problem for pharmacy personnel engaged in dispensing. These contribute to patient safety issues and negatively impact safe dispensing in pharmaceutical delivery. To date, little is documented on measures taken to assess the negative impact posed by illegible prescriptions on South African pharmacy dispensing personnel. Therefore, this pilot study was performed to evaluate the ability of pharmacy personnel to read and interpret illegible prescriptions correctly; and to report on their perceived challenges, views and concerns when presented with an illegible prescription to dispense. A cross-sectional, three-tiered self-administered survey was conducted among pharmacy personnel. A total of 885 measurements were recorded. The ability to read an illegible prescription is not an indicator of competency, as all (100%) participants (novice and experienced) made errors and experienced difficulty evaluating and deciphering the illegible prescription. The medication names and dosages were correctly identified by only 20% and 18% of all participants. The use of digital prescriptions was indicated by 70% of the participants as a probable solution to the problem. Overall, improving the quality of written prescriptions and instructions can potentially assist dispensing pharmacy personnel in reducing illegible prescription-related patient safety issues and dispensing errors. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T19:34:28Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-47f71db48b41422aafac38f6005d5094 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2226-4787 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T19:34:28Z |
| publishDate | 2022-10-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Pharmacy |
| spelling | doaj.art-47f71db48b41422aafac38f6005d50942023-11-24T01:59:47ZengMDPI AGPharmacy2226-47872022-10-0110513210.3390/pharmacy10050132Impact of Illegible Prescriptions on Dispensing Practice: A Pilot Study of South African Pharmacy PersonnelTasneem Modi0Ntandoyenkosi Khumalo1Rubina Shaikh2Zelna Booth3Stephanie Leigh-de Rapper4Gillian Dumsile Mahumane5Department of Pharmacy and Pharmacology, Faculty of Health Sciences, School of Therapeutic Science, University of the Witwatersrand, 7 York Road, Parktown, Johannesburg 2193, South AfricaDepartment of Pharmacy and Pharmacology, Faculty of Health Sciences, School of Therapeutic Science, University of the Witwatersrand, 7 York Road, Parktown, Johannesburg 2193, South AfricaDepartment of Pharmacy and Pharmacology, Faculty of Health Sciences, School of Therapeutic Science, University of the Witwatersrand, 7 York Road, Parktown, Johannesburg 2193, South AfricaDepartment of Pharmacy and Pharmacology, Faculty of Health Sciences, School of Therapeutic Science, University of the Witwatersrand, 7 York Road, Parktown, Johannesburg 2193, South AfricaDepartment of Pharmacy and Pharmacology, Faculty of Health Sciences, School of Therapeutic Science, University of the Witwatersrand, 7 York Road, Parktown, Johannesburg 2193, South AfricaDepartment of Pharmacy and Pharmacology, Faculty of Health Sciences, School of Therapeutic Science, University of the Witwatersrand, 7 York Road, Parktown, Johannesburg 2193, South AfricaIllegible prescriptions are an illegal, frequent, and longstanding problem for pharmacy personnel engaged in dispensing. These contribute to patient safety issues and negatively impact safe dispensing in pharmaceutical delivery. To date, little is documented on measures taken to assess the negative impact posed by illegible prescriptions on South African pharmacy dispensing personnel. Therefore, this pilot study was performed to evaluate the ability of pharmacy personnel to read and interpret illegible prescriptions correctly; and to report on their perceived challenges, views and concerns when presented with an illegible prescription to dispense. A cross-sectional, three-tiered self-administered survey was conducted among pharmacy personnel. A total of 885 measurements were recorded. The ability to read an illegible prescription is not an indicator of competency, as all (100%) participants (novice and experienced) made errors and experienced difficulty evaluating and deciphering the illegible prescription. The medication names and dosages were correctly identified by only 20% and 18% of all participants. The use of digital prescriptions was indicated by 70% of the participants as a probable solution to the problem. Overall, improving the quality of written prescriptions and instructions can potentially assist dispensing pharmacy personnel in reducing illegible prescription-related patient safety issues and dispensing errors.https://www.mdpi.com/2226-4787/10/5/132illegible prescriptiondispensingpharmacistpharmacy personnel |
| spellingShingle | Tasneem Modi Ntandoyenkosi Khumalo Rubina Shaikh Zelna Booth Stephanie Leigh-de Rapper Gillian Dumsile Mahumane Impact of Illegible Prescriptions on Dispensing Practice: A Pilot Study of South African Pharmacy Personnel Pharmacy illegible prescription dispensing pharmacist pharmacy personnel |
| title | Impact of Illegible Prescriptions on Dispensing Practice: A Pilot Study of South African Pharmacy Personnel |
| title_full | Impact of Illegible Prescriptions on Dispensing Practice: A Pilot Study of South African Pharmacy Personnel |
| title_fullStr | Impact of Illegible Prescriptions on Dispensing Practice: A Pilot Study of South African Pharmacy Personnel |
| title_full_unstemmed | Impact of Illegible Prescriptions on Dispensing Practice: A Pilot Study of South African Pharmacy Personnel |
| title_short | Impact of Illegible Prescriptions on Dispensing Practice: A Pilot Study of South African Pharmacy Personnel |
| title_sort | impact of illegible prescriptions on dispensing practice a pilot study of south african pharmacy personnel |
| topic | illegible prescription dispensing pharmacist pharmacy personnel |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2226-4787/10/5/132 |
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