Investigating the epidemiology of medication errors in adults in community care settings: A retrospective cohort study in central Saudi Arabia

Authors

• Ghadah A. Assiri, From the Department of Clinical Pharmacy (Assiri), College of Pharmacy, from the Prince Abdullah bin Khalid Celiac Disease Research Chair (Assiri), College of Medicine, King Saud University, from the Department of Family Medicine and Polyclinic (Alkhenizan), from the Pharmaceutical Services Division (Al-Khani), King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia; from the Centre for Population Health Sciences and Informatics (Assiri, Sheikh), The Usher Institute of Population Health Sciences and Informatics, from the Global Health and Global Health Academy (Grant), Centre for Population Health Sciences, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
• Abdullah HM Alkhenizan, From the Department of Clinical Pharmacy (Assiri), College of Pharmacy, from the Prince Abdullah bin Khalid Celiac Disease Research Chair (Assiri), College of Medicine, King Saud University, from the Department of Family Medicine and Polyclinic (Alkhenizan), from the Pharmaceutical Services Division (Al-Khani), King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia; from the Centre for Population Health Sciences and Informatics (Assiri, Sheikh), The Usher Institute of Population Health Sciences and Informatics, from the Global Health and Global Health Academy (Grant), Centre for Population Health Sciences, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
• Salma M. Al-Khani, From the Department of Clinical Pharmacy (Assiri), College of Pharmacy, from the Prince Abdullah bin Khalid Celiac Disease Research Chair (Assiri), College of Medicine, King Saud University, from the Department of Family Medicine and Polyclinic (Alkhenizan), from the Pharmaceutical Services Division (Al-Khani), King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia; from the Centre for Population Health Sciences and Informatics (Assiri, Sheikh), The Usher Institute of Population Health Sciences and Informatics, from the Global Health and Global Health Academy (Grant), Centre for Population Health Sciences, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
• Liz M. Grant, From the Department of Clinical Pharmacy (Assiri), College of Pharmacy, from the Prince Abdullah bin Khalid Celiac Disease Research Chair (Assiri), College of Medicine, King Saud University, from the Department of Family Medicine and Polyclinic (Alkhenizan), from the Pharmaceutical Services Division (Al-Khani), King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia; from the Centre for Population Health Sciences and Informatics (Assiri, Sheikh), The Usher Institute of Population Health Sciences and Informatics, from the Global Health and Global Health Academy (Grant), Centre for Population Health Sciences, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
• Aziz Sheikh, From the Department of Clinical Pharmacy (Assiri), College of Pharmacy, from the Prince Abdullah bin Khalid Celiac Disease Research Chair (Assiri), College of Medicine, King Saud University, from the Department of Family Medicine and Polyclinic (Alkhenizan), from the Pharmaceutical Services Division (Al-Khani), King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia; from the Centre for Population Health Sciences and Informatics (Assiri, Sheikh), The Usher Institute of Population Health Sciences and Informatics, from the Global Health and Global Health Academy (Grant), Centre for Population Health Sciences, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom

Abstract

Objectives: To investigate the period prevalence and risk factors for clinically important prescription and monitoring errors among adults managed in community care in Saudi Arabia (SA). Methods: This retrospective cohort study used electronic health record (HER) data. A random sample comprising of 2,000 adults (≥18 years old) visiting Family Medicine clinics in King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center (KFSH & RC), Riyadh, SA, was selected. Data collection took 3 months (October December 2017). Descriptive analyses and logistic regression modeling were performed using STATA (version 14) statistical software. Results: The overall period prevalence of medication errors over 15 months was 8.1% (95% confidence interval [CI] 6.5-9.7). Risk factors that significantly predicted overall risk of patients experiencing one or more medication errors were: age ≥65 years, male gender, Saudi nationality, and polypharmacy (defined as the concurrent use of ≥5 drugs). Conclusions: Clinically important medication errors were commonly observed in relation to both drug prescription and monitoring.

Article Type

Research Article

First Page

158

Last Page

167

Recommended Citation

Assiri, Ghadah A.; Alkhenizan, Abdullah HM; Al-Khani, Salma M.; Grant, Liz M.; and Sheikh, Aziz (2019) "Investigating the epidemiology of medication errors in adults in community care settings: A retrospective cohort study in central Saudi Arabia," Saudi Medical Journal: Vol. 40: Iss. 2, Article 8.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.15537/smj.2019.2.23933