This study investigated the quality and safety of discharge prescriptions from mental health hospitals in the UK. The researchers found that:
1) 20.8% of discharge prescriptions contained at least one prescribing error, with an overall error rate of 5.08% of prescribed items. Nearly three-quarters of errors were considered clinically relevant.
2) Increasing numbers of medications prescribed (polypharmacy) and prescriptions written by GP Trainees and Core/Specialist Trainees were associated with higher rates of prescribing errors.
3) Over 70% of prescriptions contained clerical errors, most commonly related to specifying who should continue prescribing medications. Over 67% of prescriptions requiring communication