Sign up for APHA emails to stay up-to-date on key public health news. ×
 

Improving Public Health by Advancing a Multicomponent Approach to Increasing Prescription Dispensing Safety in U.S. Outpatient Pharmacies

  • Date: Oct 29 2024
  • Policy Number: 20247

Key Words: Patient Safety, Prescription Drugs, Safety and Prevention

Download a PDF version.

This policy statement addresses one component of medication safety: the safety of prescription dispensing within outpatient pharmacies. In 2022, nearly 4.5 billion prescriptions were dispensed from these pharmacies, yet limited data exist about the types and rate of dispensing errors, the impact of factors such as work pressures and staff training on errors, and the extent to which pharmacies prioritize safety and invest resources to improve safety. While prescriptions should be dispensed without errors, national surveys and media reports indicate that dispensing errors may be increasing because of a lack of organizational commitment to the personnel and resources needed to ensure patient safety. This weak culture of safety may reflect the relative lack of external accountability placed upon pharmacies to ensure that prescriptions are dispensed without error. Three avenues for lowering the risk of dispensing errors are proposed: (1) additional research and practice-based data to determine error types, rates and costs, pharmacy-based factors contributing to errors, and the effectiveness of continuous quality improvement efforts to prevent future errors; (2) further research into defining and measuring the culture of safety within pharmacies and effective ways to strengthen that culture; and (3) increased external accountability for pharmacies to maintain a culture of safety. Prescription dispensing safety is likely to be clearly assessed and continuously improved if a multicomponent, collaborative approach brings together the innovation, support, and accountability needed to address this key component of medication safety. Undertaking the recommended action steps within the selected sector of pharmacies can serve as a springboard for expanding prescription dispensing safety in all pharmacies.