The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 268 No 7191 p419-425
30 March 2002

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Poor record keeping leads to drug errors

Researchers from the Imperial College Management School in London have identified bad record keeping as a reason for patients getting the wrong medication.

Dr Rifat Atun, director, health management programme, ICMS, and colleagues surveyed 317 general practitioners in Yorkshire about their views on electronic patient records. They found that 47 per cent of GPs said that lost paper records had resulted in slower diagnoses and that 17 per cent said that this had led to the wrong drugs being given. Sixty per cent of GPs thought that the introduction of electronic records would improve standards of care.

A recent Audit Commission report has also identified a need for improving record keeping. The report, "Data remember — improving the quality of patient-based information in the NHS", says that the accuracy of the information collected about patients must be improved in hospitals. The report is available here or can be ordered from Audit Commission Publications on 0800 502030, price £18.