We use cookies to understand how you use our site and to improve your experience. This includes personalizing content and advertising. To learn more, click here. By continuing to use our site, you accept our use of cookies. Cookie Policy.

Features Partner Sites Information LinkXpress
Sign In
Advertise with Us

Download Mobile App




Five Prescribing Tips for New Doctors

By HospiMedica International staff writers
Posted on 13 Aug 2014
Print article
The Medical and Dental Defence Union of Scotland (MDDUS; Glasgow, United Kingdom) has issued prescribing tips for new graduates embarking on their first hospital job.

The UK-wide medical defense organization is offering advice for new foundation year doctors to avoid common pitfalls in prescribing medication. The top five prescribing tips for new doctors are:

Write legibly: an illegible prescription could result in the patient receiving the wrong medication, for example chlorpromazine in place of chlorpropamide. This also applies in hospitals that use electronic prescribing, especially computer systems that use predictive text. A doctor can type in the first few letters, and then select the wrong option from the drop-down menu.

Check dosage and frequency: dosing errors can often occurs at the time of rewriting a barely legible drug chart, or when instructions to prescribe a drug do not come with the units. The consequence is that the patient may come to harm from an inappropriate dose or frequency. An example is if bisphosphonates are prescribed daily rather than weekly.

Confirm route: Many patients in hospital require complex medical care, which may include the administration of drugs by different routes. It is important to include a route of administration for every drug prescribed and ensure the appropriate dosage. For example, there have been several cases in which the chemotherapy drug vincristine, which should be administered intravenously, has been incorrectly delivered intrathecally, with fatal consequences.

Consider drug interactions: Many patients in hospital have complex comorbidities requiring numerous medications. It is important to check a patient's existing medicines before prescribing anything new. Drug affects may be amplified by the addition of another, or may pose a greater risk of adverse effects to the patient. For example, warfarin may reach dangerous levels of anticoagulation due to the addition of an interacting antibiotic.

Don't be afraid to seek help: As well as accessing national and local formularies, take advantage of the knowledge of co-workers. A ward pharmacist will be able to provide valuable advice on dosing regimens and possible drug interactions. Senior colleagues can clarify any drugs which are unfamiliar.

“Prescribing the right drug, in the right dose, to the right patient, is one of the most important responsibilities of any doctor,” said Naeem Nazem, MD, medical adviser to the MDDUS. “It is particularly relevant to hospital trainee doctors, who are often asked to prescribe unfamiliar drugs to unfamiliar patients.”

Related Links:

Medical and Dental Defence Union of Scotland


Gold Member
Solid State Kv/Dose Multi-Sensor
AGMS-DM+
Gold Member
STI Test
Vivalytic Sexually Transmitted Infection (STI) Array
Silver Member
Wireless Mobile ECG Recorder
NR-1207-3/NR-1207-E
New
LED Phototherapy System
Bililed Mini+

Print article

Channels

Surgical Techniques

view channel
Image: NTT and Olympus have begun the world\'s first joint demonstration experiment of a cloud endoscopy system (Photo courtesy of Olympus)

Cloud Endoscopy System Enables Real-Time Image Processing on the Cloud

Endoscopes, which are flexible tubes inserted into the body's natural openings for internal examination and biopsy collection, are becoming increasingly vital in medical diagnostics. Their minimal invasiveness... Read more

Patient Care

view channel
Image: The newly-launched solution can transform operating room scheduling and boost utilization rates (Photo courtesy of Fujitsu)

Surgical Capacity Optimization Solution Helps Hospitals Boost OR Utilization

An innovative solution has the capability to transform surgical capacity utilization by targeting the root cause of surgical block time inefficiencies. Fujitsu Limited’s (Tokyo, Japan) Surgical Capacity... Read more

Health IT

view channel
Image: First ever institution-specific model provides significant performance advantage over current population-derived models (Photo courtesy of Mount Sinai)

Machine Learning Model Improves Mortality Risk Prediction for Cardiac Surgery Patients

Machine learning algorithms have been deployed to create predictive models in various medical fields, with some demonstrating improved outcomes compared to their standard-of-care counterparts.... Read more

Point of Care

view channel
Image: The PATHFAST hs-cTnI-II high-sensitivity troponin assay has been developed for the PATHFAST Biomarker Analyzer (Photo courtesy of Polymedco)

POC Myocardial Infarction Test Delivers Results in 17 Minutes

Chest pain is the second leading cause of emergency department (ED) visits by adults in the United States, generating over 7 million visits annually. In the event of a suspected heart attack, physicians... Read more
Copyright © 2000-2024 Globetech Media. All rights reserved.