AbstractMedication errors are one of the most common causes of patient harm and prescribing accounts for a large proportion of medication errors. An observational, retrospective cross sectional study was carried out in the period between May 2013 and July 2013 and collected prescriptions were analyzed statistically using SPSS 13.0 software. The aim of the study was to identify various patterns of prescription writing by doctors and to detect common errors of prescription. This study highlights the concerns regarding excessive use of antibiotics , irrational use and combinations of antibiotics with other drugs ,influence of marketing by pharmaceutical companies . Certain measures are suggested to minimize the prescription errors and improvement in the same, thereby enhancing patient safety .
Keywords: Error; Irrational use; Prescription.