Assessment of Medication Error Patterns at Community Pharmacies in Abuja, Federal Capital Territory

Medication errors at the dispensing level represent a preventable cause of patient harm in community pharmacy settings. This study assessed the patterns, types, and contributing factors of dispensing errors at community pharmacies in Abuja, Federal Capital Territory, North Central Nigeria. A mixed-methods study combining direct observation and structured interviews was conducted in 25 community pharmacies across three area councils in Abuja. Trained observers accompanied pharmacy staff for ten working hours per pharmacy, documenting dispensing activities and noting deviations from standards. Exit interviews were conducted with 150 dispensed prescription patients. Dispensing errors were categorised as wrong drug, wrong dose, wrong quantity, wrong labelling, or wrong patient counselling. Results showed an overall dispensing error rate of 4.7 percent per prescription dispensed. Wrong labelling was the most frequent error type, representing 38.3 percent of all identified errors. Inadequate counselling was noted in 57.3 percent of observed dispensing encounters. High prescription volume, lone dispensary operation, and poor prescription legibility were identified as the primary contributing factors. Technician-dispensed prescriptions had significantly higher error rates than those dispensed by pharmacists. The study recommends mandatory minimum staffing standards for dispensing pharmacies, pharmacist-only dispensing for high-risk medications, and adoption of electronic prescription systems to improve legibility and reduce dispensing errors in the FCT.

Keywords: medication errors, dispensing errors, community pharmacy, Abuja, FCT