1.1 Intro To Safe Prescribing

Question 1

What are the goals of good prescribing?

Answer 1

• Maximise effectiveness
• Respect patient choices
• Minimise risk
• Minimise cost

Question 2

What are some sources of error in prescribing that are

• patient factors

Answer 2

• Pregnancy and breast feeding
• Elderly
• Polypharmacy
• palliative care.
• children e.g their weight
• hepatic or renal impairment

Question 3

What are some sources of error in prescribing that are

• health professional factors

Answer 3

• knowledge
• tired or stressed
• distracted
• technical skills
• communication skills

Question 4

What are some sources of error in prescribing that are

• system factors

Answer 4

• team and inter professional working
• workload
• hierarchy
• culture/ethos

Question 5

What is the Swiss cheese model of medical error?

Answer 5

Where a series of factors line up to cause an error in a patients medication.

E.g penicillin allergy unknown to medical team responsible for patient e.g not asking GP/family = doctor prescribes it = nurse administers it without anyone checking the patient history = bad reaction

Question 6

How can you minimise risk in prescribing?

Answer 6

Check

• allergies
• drug/dose/route/frequency/duration
• interactions and side effects
• correct instructions and monitoring
• local/national guidance and policies

Make sure decision making is shared
Double check and ask for help from a team