PRESCRIPTION ERRORS IN PRIMARY CARE IN THE NATIONAL PROGRAM OF PATIENT SAFETY CONTEXT

Abstract

Prescription errors confi gure risks to the patient, and unnecessary expenses for the patient and the public health system. The aim of this study was to conduct a literature review on prescription errors in primary
health care in the face of the National Program of Patient Safety. This is a literature review study whose strategy was a search for Brazilian articles published between 2013 and 2018, the period of the National Program Patient Safety, using the keywords drug prescription, medication errors and primary health care. The most frequent errors were omission of treatment duration, drugs prescribed by trade name, lack of adherence to the National List of Essential Medicines, polypharmacy with potential drug interactions, duplicate therapy and contraindicated drug combinations. There are still few studies that investigate errors related to the prescription of drugs in the context of primary health care. Furthermore, despite the existence of legislation regulating actions aimed at patient safety in Brazil, it is necessary to raise awareness on the part of health and management professionals regarding compliance with the legislation, which presupposes the need to expand the Patient Safety Centers. for the scope of Primary Health Care.