Evaluation of an Outpatient Modified Prescription Form

Medication Errors Clinical Trial

Official title:

Evaluation of an Outpatient Modified Paper Prescription Form in 4 Rural States to Address the Public Health Problem of Prescribing Error

Clinical Trial Details — Status: Completed

Administrative data

• NCT number: NCT00256594
• Other study ID #: 1 R04RH05814-01-00
• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• First received: November 17, 2005
• Last updated: December 14, 2011
• Start date: August 2005
• Est. completion date: January 2011

Study information

• Verified date: December 2011
• Source: University of Vermont
• Contact: n/a
• Is FDA regulated: No
• Study type: Interventional

Clinical Trial Summary

The purpose of this study is to determine if a modified paper prescribing form decreases prescribing errors compared to a traditional or standard paper prescribing form.

Description:

The broad goal of this proposal is to reduce outpatient prescribing errors in rural primary care practices. Although computerized technology is available for prescribing, it has not yet been implemented in most settings. Additionally, rural prescribers will likely be the last to have the means to adopt this technology. Due to the substantial morbidity and mortality in the United States caused by outpatient medication errors, there is an urgent need for low-cost solutions. This research plan will evaluate a modified paper prescription form that may be implemented in rural primary care settings cheaply and quickly with the goal of outpatient prescription error reduction.

The specific aims of this project are:

1. To determine if a modified paper prescription form decreases overall prescribing errors compared to a standard paper prescription form

2. To determine if a modified paper prescription form decreases omission errors compared to a standard paper prescription form

3. To determine prescriber satisfaction with the modified prescription form

Rural prescribers from four states will be randomly recruited to write prescriptions on standard and modified forms. Prescription duplicates of both types will be analyzed for errors. Prescriber satisfaction with the modified form will be evaluated using surveys and focus groups.

Medication errors are a public health problem. Low-cost technology that is shown to reduce medication errors would benefit all rural patients who receive prescriptions.

Recruitment information / eligibility

• Status: Completed
• Enrollment: 84
• Est. completion date: January 2011
• Est. primary completion date: February 2010
• Accepts healthy volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers
• Gender: All
• Age group: 21 Years and older

Eligibility

Inclusion Criteria:

• Must be a physician, nurse practitioner, or physician assistant with a current license to write outpatient prescriptions

• Must practice in Family Practice, Internal Medicine, or Pediatrics

• Must practice in rural Vermont, West Virginia, South Dakota, or Montana

• Must write outpatient paper prescriptions

• Must write prescriptions in English

Exclusion Criteria:

• Not licensed to write prescriptions

• Practice in a specialty, inpatient, or long term care setting

• Do not write paper prescriptions

• Do not write prescriptions in English

Related Conditions & MeSH terms

• Medication Errors

Intervention

Device:
• prescription form
Two prescription pads contained modified forms and two prescription pads were similar to the prescription pads the prescriber had been using. Providers completed 100 standard and 100 modified prescriptions

Locations

Country	Name	City	State
United States	University of Vermont, Division of General Internal Medicine	Burlington	Vermont

Sponsors (2)

Lead Sponsor	Collaborator
University of Vermont	Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA)

Country where clinical trial is conducted

United States, 

References & Publications (3)

Kennedy AG, Littenberg B, Callas PW, Carney JK. Evaluation of a modified prescription form to address prescribing errors. Am J Health Syst Pharm. 2011 Jan 15;68(2):151-7. doi: 10.2146/ajhp100063. — View Citation

Kennedy AG, Littenberg B. A modified outpatient prescription form to reduce prescription errors. Jt Comm J Qual Saf. 2004 Sep;30(9):480-7. — View Citation

Kennedy AG, Senders JW, Sellen K, Littenberg B, Callas PW, Carney JK. Perception of drug-name legibility by pharmacists and pharmacy technicians. Am J Health Syst Pharm. 2009 May 1;66(9):794-5. doi: 10.2146/ajhp080189. — View Citation

Outcome

Type	Measure	Description	Time frame	Safety issue
Primary	error rates of standard versus modified prescriptions per prescriber		200 prescriptions each