Assessing the impact of an educational program on decreasing prescribing errors at a university hospital

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Several complex and costly interventions reduce medication errors. Little exists on the effectiveness of providing education and feedback to institutional clinicians as a means of reducing errors. OBJECTIVE: To determine the impact on prescribing errors of a pharmacist‐led educational intervention. DESIGN: Prospective, interrupted time series study. SETTING: This study was conducted among internal medicine residents at the 320‐bed University of Toledo Medical Center. INTERVENTION: The educational intervention was conducted during a 6‐month period beginning in November 2006. The intervention included an initial hour‐long lecture followed by biweekly and then monthly discussions that used timely, institution‐specific examples of prescribing errors. MEASUREMENTS: Data were collected at 5 time points: month 0 (preintervention period); months 1, 3, and 6 (intervention period); and month 7 (postintervention period). Errors were identified, transcribed, coded, and entered into a database. The primary outcome was the frequency of prescribing errors during each period. A Bonferroni‐adjusted chi‐square analysis was conducted with an a priori experiment‐wise alpha of 0.05. RESULTS: A reduction in prescribing errors of 33% following the first intervention month and a mean 26% reduction during the study period were observed (P < 0.0025). The frequencies of preintervention and postintervention errors did not differ significantly. CONCLUSIONS: A straightforward educational intervention reduced prescribing errors during the period of active intervention, but this effect was not sustained. Ongoing communication and education about institution‐specific medication errors appear warranted. Journal of Hospital Medicine 2009;4:97–101. © 2009 Society of Hospital Medicine.

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