I would like to add another category of error to the helpful description given by Slight and colleagues.1
A patient of mine was approached to take part in a trial of medication: the REVEAL study (http://www.ctsu.ox.ac.uk/~reveal/). This seeks to test a new drug, anacetrapib, in the context of lipid lowering. The paperwork was scanned into our EMIS Web system and I reviewed the letter. The EMIS prescribing module allows ‘red’ drugs to be included in the prescribing record so that possible interactions with proposed new medication is highlighted.
Unfortunately anacetrapib is not included in the drop down menu and so I contacted the study organisers. There is no requirement for medication being tested in a clinical trial to be available in GP systems for addition to the prescription screen. I can foresee circumstances when interacting medication could be added un-knowingly by myself or colleagues. This gap in the system needs to be addressed and I have contacted the National Research Ethics Service for guidance.
- © British Journal of General Practice 2013
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