Prescription errors by emergency physicians for inpatients are associated with emergency department length of stay

Summary Objectives Adverse drug events are the sixth-leading cause of death in Western countries and are also more frequent in emergency departments (EDs). In some hospitals or on some occasions, ED physicians prescribe for patients who they have admitted. These prescriptions are then followed by the wards and can persist for several days. Our objectives were to determine the frequency of prescription errors for patients over 18 years old hospitalized from ED to medical or surgical wards, and whether there exists a relationship between those prescription errors and ED LOS. Methods This was a single center retrospective study that was conduct in the ED of a university hospital with an annual census of 65 000 patients. The population studied consisted of patients over 18 years old hospitalized from ED to medical or surgical wards between January 1st, 2012 and January 21st, 2012. Results Six hundred eight patients were included. One hundred fifty-four (25%) patients had prescription errors. Prescription errors were associated with increased ED length of stay (OR = 2.47; 95% CIs [1.58; 3.92]) and polypharmacy (OR = 1.78; 95% CIs [1.20; 2.66]). Fewer prescription errors were found when the patient was examined in the ED by a consultant (OR = 0.61; 95% CIs [0.41; 0.91]) and when the medical history was known (OR = 0.28; 95% CIs [0.10; 0.88]). Conclusion Prescription errors occurred frequently in the ED. We assume that a clear communication and cooperation between EPs and consultants may help improve prescription accuracy.