Background Transcription errors and drug-related problems occur during transition of care. A national registry of all Danish citizens’ currently prescribed medicines, the Shared Medicines Record (SMR), is currently being implemented in Denmark. Among other things the SMR was developed to reduce medicines transcription errors. SMR is an electronic system managing prescriptions for individual patients. Prescriptions may be transferred from SMR to the electronic patient module (EPM) at hospitals. However since this process is not automatic discrepancies associated with this transfer may occur.

Purpose To identify discrepancies resulting from transfer of prescriptions from SMR to EPM.

Materials and methods The study was designed as a quantitative descriptive cross-sectional study. Data were collected over a period of 2 weeks at the Internal Medicines Ward, Holbaek Hospital, Denmark. All prescriptions for recently admitted patients were reviewed and analysed.

Discrepancies were noted in respect of the following:

• Dose

• Method of administration

• Indication

• Lack of analogue substitution in relation to hospital drug formularies (HDFs)

• Lack of transfer from SMR to EPM

• Medicines reconciliation

Results Prescriptions from 79 patients (totalling 739 prescriptions) were examined. Two (0.3%) dose discrepancies and 1 (0.1%) indication discrepancy were identified. In 15 cases (19%) an analogue substitution was not made according to the HDFs. No transcription errors were identified associated with method of administration. In 41 (46%) cases no reason was given for not transferring the prescription from SMR to EPM.

Medicines reconciliation was not performed for 14 patients (18%).

Conclusions This study showed only few discrepancies associated with the transfer of prescriptions from SMR to EPM. However, further improvements are needed regarding medicines reconciliation including the requested statement in the EPM when a prescription was not transferred from SMR to EPM. To ensure generalisability, further studies are needed to conclude that only few transcription errors are associated with the implementation of SMR.

No conflict of interest.