Abu Dhabi: With the aim of eliminating medication errors, the UAE Ministry of Health on Monday (March 5) announced that all healthcare facilities across the country must only deal in printed and electronic prescriptions within six months.
The regulation, which was detailed in a circular, will therefore do away with handwritten prescriptions, which can endanger patients’ lives or cause health complication due to medication dispensing errors.
All healthcare facilities in the UAE, both public and private healthcare facilities, must comply with the new rule within six months.
Dr Ameen Al Amiri, assistant undersecretary for public health policy and licensing at the ministry, said the ministry will not allow pharmacies to dispense medication if handwritten prescriptions are presented once the regulation comes into effect.
Details required
In addition, electronic and typed prescriptions should also contain essential medication and administration details, including an accurate description of the medicine, its prescribed dosage and usage instructions, the name of the patient, the doctor’s name and signature, and the date of issue.
“Medication errors are a global concern, and an earlier study found that they account for more than 7,000 fatalities in the United States every year.
"In addition, numerous patients can suffer from serious side effects and complications for wrongly dispensed medicines,” Dr Al Amiri explained.
Handwritten prescriptions can be difficult to read, and it is often difficult to decipher the exact dosage for a medicine when the prescription is penned in a hurry.
Electronic system
To that end, Dr Al Amiri said the Ministry is also keen on developing an electronic system for recording prescriptions, which would not only reduce the chance of medication errors, but also help keep track of the volume and type of medications prescribed for planning purposes.
The official urged residents to insist on electronic and printed prescriptions, and to report any violations once the new regulation comes into effect.
In Abu Dhabi, pharmacies have been dealing only with electronic and printed prescriptions for more than five years, in compliance with regulations issued earlier by the department of health.
The department also monitors medication use and effect through its pharmacovigilance programme.
Yasmeen Saleh, a pharmacist at an outlet of Burjeel Pharmacy in the capital, said only about one per cent of patients actually present handwritten prescriptions.
“These are usually issued by small clinics and medical centres, but we always turn them away and insisted on a printed or electronic prescription. After all, handwritten notes can be hard to read correctly, and we cannot afford to make a mistake when dispensing medicines,” she said.
