Prevalence and contributing factors of dispensing errors in community pharmacies

Context: Dispensing errors pose a significant risk to patient safety and remain a primary concern in the practice of pharmacy. Aims: To assess the prevalence of dispensing errors and identify associated factors among community pharmacists in Jordan. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 202 community pharmacists using a validated questionnaire. The sample size was based on Green’s rule (n = 50 + 8*12 predictors). Quantile regression was employed to examine predictors of error frequency. Results: Common contributing factors included similar medication names (61.4%), unreadable prescriptions (67.3%), and incomplete prescriptions (66.3%). Higher error frequencies were observed among employee pharmacists (β = 2.333; p = 0.007) and male pharmacists (β = -1.667; p = 0.01). Conclusions: Dispensing errors remain prevalent. Employment status and gender were significantly associated with error frequency. Targeted interventions and policy reforms are recommended to reduce errors and improve patient safety.