Prevalence of prescribing errors resulting in administration of incorrect dosages of antineoplastic treatment.

6614 Background: The prevalence of non-intercepted prescribing errors and the impact of computerized order entry systems (CPOE) in preventing such errors are not known. Our objective was to evaluate both prevalence and severity of non-intercepted prescription dose errors as well as the impact of a CPOE system on these in a setting of adult cancer patients. Methods: A prospective observational case control study in two clinical oncology units. One institution used a parallel CPOE system with no connection to the electronic patient chart data, while the other used paper based prescription forms. All standard prescriptions from both institutions were included and reviewed. Doses were recalculated according to the guidelines of each of the institutions using the patient data as documented in the chart, on the paper based form or in the CPOE system at the time of prescription. A non-intercepted prescription dose error was defined as ≥ 10% difference between the administered and the recalculated dose. Main outc...