A trial of a new prescription chart found "significant improvements" and fewer errors over correct doses.

Imperial College research into improving prescribing behaviour among healthcare workers was featured in the Times last week.

The article, titled "New chart is simple cure against prescription errors", discusses a piece of research completed by Dr Dominic King and Esmita Charani and their team. The team developed a new user-centred inpatient prescription chart and tested it at Imperial College NHS Trust. 

In situ simulation testing revealedsignificant improvements in prescribing on the new chart compared with the prescription chart currently in use. Positive behavioural change was seen without prior education or support, suggesting that some common prescription writing errors are potentially rectifiable simply through changes in the content and design of prescription charts.

You can read the full article at thetimes.co.uk or download the research paper from the CIPM publications page.