• Laura B Hansen, Douglas Fernald, Rodrigo Araya-Guerra, John M Westfall, David West, and Wilson Pace.
• Department of Clinical Pharmacy, School of Pharmacy, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Health Sciences Center, 4200 East 9th Avenue, Avenue, Campus Box C238, Aurora, CO 80262, USA. laura.hansen@uchsc.edu
• J Am Board Fam Med. 2006 Jan 1;19(1):24-30.

IntroductionPrescription errors threaten patient safety and pharmacists often contact providers for prescription clarification. This study describes the principal reasons pharmacies call primary care practices to clarify prescriptions and subsequent implications for quality and patient safety improvement.MethodsA cross-sectional study of 22 primary care practices participating in a patient safety study was performed. Callbacks from pharmacies were logged for 2 weeks to determine reasons for callbacks, most frequently involved drug classes, whether issues were resolved on the same day of the call, and variability of callbacks among practice types. Analyses were performed using frequencies, t tests, and chi(2) tests.ResultsPractices recorded 567 clarification calls, most frequently for prior authorization issues (n = 209; 37%), formulary issues (n = 148; 26%), and unclear/missing prescription dosages (n = 117; 21%). Drug classes most frequently requiring clarifications were gastrointestinal (n = 122; 21.7%), cardiovascular (n = 278; 13.9%), and analgesic/anesthetic (n = 74; 13.2%) agents. Issues were resolved on the same day 62% of the time. Residency practices averaged more issues per call (P < .001).ConclusionsClarification calls made to primary care practices involve administrative and clinical issues, potentially impacting patient safety. Pharmacy callback data can identify potential prescription concerns, thereby helping practices develop interventions aimed at reducing errors and improving patient safety.

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