Perception of Community Pharmacists towards Dispensing Errors in Community Pharmacy Setting in Gondar Town, Northwest Ethiopia.

BACKGROUND: Dispensing errors are inevitable occurrences in community pharmacies across the world.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to identify the community pharmacists' perception towards dispensing errors in the community pharmacies in Gondar town, Northwest Ethiopia.

METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 47 community pharmacists selected through convenience sampling. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 20. Descriptive statistics, Mann-Whitney U test, and Pearson's Chi-square test of independence were conducted with P ≤ 0.05 considered statistically significant.

RESULT: The majority of respondents were in the 23-28-year age group ( N = 26, 55.3%) and with at least B.Pharm degree ( N = 25, 53.2%). Poor prescription handwriting and similar/confusing names were perceived to be the main contributing factors while all the strategies and types of dispensing errors were highly acknowledged by the respondents. Group differences ( P < 0.05) in opinions were largely due to educational level and age.

CONCLUSION: Dispensing errors were associated with prescribing quality and design of dispensary as well as dispensing procedures. Opinion differences relate to age and educational status of the respondents.