- GPs make mistakes in 1 in 10 prescriptions and need better
training, says the chief of the Government's drugs rationing body. Prof.
Sir Michael Rawlins, head of the National Institute for Clinical Excellence,
claims the incompentence of some GPs results in errors that put patients
in hospital.
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- Research suggests up to 1 in 20 hospital admissions could
be caused by "preventable" medical drug related problems.
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- This brought an outcry from GP representatives, but they
admitted family doctors are working under great pressure with just 8 minutes
available for each patient on average.
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- Earlier this year Govt. chief medical officer Sir Liam
Donaldson issued a warning to GPs that bad handwriting can kill, after
a patient was given a medical drug overdose because of a doctor's illegible
scrawl.
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- Sir Michael said a study showed 11% of prescriptions
by doctors contained errors. Not all of them were serious. He called
for computer prescribing & said "Junior doctors are not being
taught how to prescribe properly". This was published in "Quality
& Safety in Healthcare", co-authored by Nick Barber, Professor
of Pharmacy Practice at the London School of Pharmacy.
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