Business
Computers miss prescribing errors
NEWS IN BRIEF — Posted June 14, 2004
Computers often fail to warn physicians of certain potentially serious prescribing errors, according to a study published in the May 15, 2004, issue of the British Medical Journal.
While four computer systems commonly used by 75% of the general practitioners in the United Kingdom sharply reduce errors by making prescriptions and dosages more legible than those that are handwritten, researchers found that those systems often failed to alert physicians for contraindications for which medications should not be prescribed.
For example, as part of a simulated test involving 18 different scenarios the researchers conducted, none of the systems tested would have alerted users against prescribing propranolol for patients with a history of asthma, and one would not have warned doctors against prescribing penicillin to patients allergic to it. A solution to the problem "is to have more explicit regulation about the situations in which suppliers should implement specific alerts," the study said.
Note: This item originally appeared at http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2004/06/14/bibf0614.htm.
