Vol. 423 No. 8
136 Mr. Allen asked the Minister for Health the proposals, if any, he has, in relation to a recent report (details supplied) that bad handwriting is a major factor in the large number of drug prescribing and dispensing errors which annually results in much suffering for patients; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
Presumably the Deputy is referring to a recent study of drug prescribing and dispensing errors undertaken by a consultant physician which was reported in the quarterly Journal of the UK Medical Defence Union. Bad hand-writing was identified in the study as only one of the factors contributing to such errors. Although the study took place in the UK, the recommendations arising from it, which have appeared in medical and pharmaceutical publications, merit attention by doctors everywhere, including Ireland.
