Reducing prescribing errors: can a well-designed electronic system help?

Rationale, Aims And Objectives: In this study, the aim was to investigate if an electronic prescribing system designed specifically to reduce errors would lead to fewer errors in prescribing medicines in a secondary care setting.

Method: The electronic system was compared with paper prescription charts on 16 intensive care patients to assess any change in the number of prescribing errors.

Results: The overall level of compliance with nationally accepted standards was significantly higher with the electronic system (91.