Pitfalls of Prescribing and Risk Disclosure

Abstract

The prescribing of medication is a significant element of the overall workload of a GP and it is estimated that an average of 300 prescription items are prescribed each week by every GP. The workload in primary care continues to increase and consequently, GPs are expected to prescribe ever more complex and expensive drugs. Data from the NHS Information centre show that in 2008, drug expenditure by GPs in UK stood at £4.5 billion, representing 50% of primary care costs, and this is expected to rise annually by 9%. The prescribing of large numbers of drugs inevitably leads to medication errors, with the Medical Protection Society (MPS) suggesting in 2010 that medication errors account for 20% of all errors in general practice with the cost of adverse events estimated at £750million a year. The data suggest that many of the errors are preventable; so it is advisable for doctors to consider potential risks when prescribing and for practices to have safety systems in place to avoid adverse events.