Ela Hoti, Department of Pharmacy, Faculty of Medicine, University Of Medicine Tirana, Tirana, Albania
Fabiola Noga, Department of Pharmacy, Faculty of Medicine, University Of Medicine Tirana, Tirana, Albania
Luna Lucia Carro, Community Pharmacy, Tirana, Albania
Ledjan Malaj, Department of Pharmacy, Faculty of Medicine, University Of Medicine Tirana, Tirana, Albania
ABSTRACT
Background:
Drug prescribing is still a handwritten process in many countries. The quality of handwritten medication orders plays a crucial role in achieving the desired therapeutic goal. Therefore, the caregiver should ensure the completeness and the legibility of the prescription according to the legal requirements in order to minimise errors in the dispensing process.
Purpose:
To evaluate the completeness and legibility of handwritten outpatient prescriptions in community pharmacy settings in Albania.
Method:
This study was conducted among community pharmacies in ten different cities in Albania. The handwritten outpatient prescriptions kept in pharmacy from April to May 2021 were collected using random sampling technique. The prescriptions were analysed for completeness using a checklist developed based on the outpatient prescription form used in primary care settings. Legibility was evaluated by two experienced pharmacists.
Results:
A total of 535 prescriptions from primary care centres retained by pharmacies were collected for analysis. The majority of the prescriptions (66.9%) missed patients’ diagnoses. In many cases prescribers’ information such as name, signature and stamp were missing altogether (56%). The highest omitted element from patients’ information was registration number (65.3%) followed by address (59.1%). Information relating to dosage form, dose, frequency, quantity and route of administration of the prescribed drugs were present altogether in approximately 21% of prescriptions observed. The commercial name of the drugs was mentioned in all the prescriptions, with only 12% of them having the generic name. About half of the prescriptions (53.6%) were moderately legible.
Conclusions:
This study revealed that there is a need for improvement regarding the level of completeness and legibility of handwritten outpatient prescriptions in Albania. The implementation of an electronic prescribing system in the outpatient setting can substantially contribute in improving the prescription writing process.