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Reducing inappropriate prescriptions of PRN medications on Beechwood Ward
Kashif, Mohammad Farthing, Charlotte Chandavarkar, Ravi Amponsah, Abena Ken-Afolabi, Temitope Supported by the Quality Improvement Team
Kashif, Mohammad
Farthing, Charlotte
Chandavarkar, Ravi
Amponsah, Abena
Ken-Afolabi, Temitope
Supported by the Quality Improvement Team
Abstract
Project Aim: To reduce the number of inappropriate PRN prescriptions on Beechwood Ward by improving the reviewing of PRN medications.
When patients are admitted onto Beechwood Ward, PRN medications are prescribed upon clerking. It has been observed that every patient is prescribed standard PRN medications and no rationale is documented. These have the potential to be continued until admission without reviewing the need. When patients are discharged, some PRN medications like Benzodiazepines are given upon discharge and the community team is expected to take over prescription. Patients would be expecting these PRN medications and it becomes difficult to reduce and stop due to withdrawal symptoms. Recently PRN medication was prescribed upon admission and not given for long time, but no rationale for the PRN was documented and this could cause side effects. The aim of this project is to reduce inappropriate prescriptions of PRN medications and to improve the frequency of review of PRN medications.
Tools Used:
Clinical audit;
Driver diagram - https://aqua.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/qsir-driver-diagrams.pdf;
PDSA cycles - https://aqua.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/qsir-pdsa-cycles-model-for-improvement.pdf;
Stakeholder engagement.
Project Impact: Prescriptions of PRN have reduced from 93% at the start of the project to 78% by the end. The latest data shows that 100% of PRN medications were stopped before discharge and only 6% included on TTOs. The data shows that PRN medications are now being reviewed more regularly during admissions to establish the ongoing need, and amend or stop accordingly.
Affiliations
Coventry and Warwickshire Partnership NHS Trust
Citations
Altmetric:
Date
2026-03
Type
Internal Poster
Subject
Collections
Citation
Kashif, Mohammad; Farthing, Charlotte; Chandavarkar, Ravi; Amponsah, Abena; Ken-Afolabi, Temitope. Reducing inappropriate prescriptions of PRN medications on Beechwood Ward. Coventry and Warwickshire Partnership NHS Trust, 2026.