PURPOSE:

To study discrepancies between (i) the prescribed current treatment stated by patients with congestive heart failure (CHF) compared with patients with other chronic diseases, (ii) the data in the medication list (ML) in the electronic medical record and (iii) the data in the prescription list (PL) on the prescriptions stored in the national prescription repository in Sweden, to determine current, noncurrent, duplicate and missing prescriptions.

METHODS:

At one healthcare centre, a random sample of patients 18 years and older with a diagnosis of CHF, diabetes mellitus (DM) or osteoarthritis (OA) provided written informed consent to participate. Participants were interviewed by telephone on the prescribed current treatment.

RESULTS:

Of 161 invited patients (61 CHF, 50 DM and 50 OA), 66 patients were included. More than 80% of the patients had at least one discrepancy, a noncurrent, a duplicate or a missing prescription, in the ML and PL. The overall congruence for unique prescriptions on current treatment between the ML and the PL was only 55%. Patients with CHF had overall more discrepancies and patients with DM fewer discrepancies in the ML.

CONCLUSIONS:

Prescriptions for noncurrent treatment, duplicates and missing prescriptions are common in both the ML in the electronic medical record and the list on prescriptions stored in the Swedish National Prescription Repository. Patients with CHF had more discrepancies in the ML. The risk for medication errors in primary care due to incorrect information on prescribed treatment may be substantial.

Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.