Assessment of handwritten prescriptions from Saudi Arabia according to international guidelines

OBJECTIVE: Prescription dispensing services are not digitalized in the majority of governmental hospitals and private clinics in Saudi Arabia, which makes them prone to error. We aimed to evaluate handwritten prescriptions in a region in Saudi Arabia for consistency and accuracy according to international guidelines. METHODS: A sample of handwritten prescriptions (dated 2016 or 2017) from selected pharmacies in the Al-Qassim region (n = 556) were evaluated for missing information on items related to prescriber, patient, and medication according to the World Health Organization and Food and Drug Administration guidelines. RESULTS: We found that the prescriber’s name and contact information were missing in two-thirds of the prescriptions (66%). Patients’ addresses were always missing (100%). No prescription contained medication warnings; a majority lacked information on mode of administration (68%) and methods to avoid refilling (66%). CONCLUSION: Saudi Arabia should take a multipronged approach, including digitalization of prescription dispensing services, in both public and private health care facilities in order to reduce prescription errors.