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The national inpatient medication chart: critical audit of design and performance at a tertiary hospital

Ian D Coombes, Danielle A Stowasser, Carol M Reid and Charles A Mitchell
Med J Aust 2008; 188 (12): . || doi: 10.5694/j.1326-5377.2008.tb01862.x
Published online: 16 June 2008

To the Editor: Millar and colleagues recently described their comparison of the national inpatient medication chart (NIMC) with 14 other medication charts.1 They concluded that the NIMC contained design features that were adverse and therefore inferior to the medication chart previously used in their hospital. They also stated that the advantages expected by the Western Australian Director-General of Health in introducing the national chart were not experienced at their hospital.


  • 1 University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD.
  • 2 Safe Medication Practice Unit, Medication Services Queensland, Brisbane, QLD.
  • 3 Health Quality and Complaints Commission, Brisbane, QLD.



  • 1. Millar JA, Silla RC, Lee GE, Berwick A. The national inpatient medication chart: critical audit of design and performance at a tertiary hospital. Med J Aust 2008; 188: 95-99. <MJA full text>
  • 2. Youngman J, Coombes I, Stowasser D, Mitchell C. The implementation of a national medication chart in Australian public hospitals as a national initiative to address medication error [abstract]. 23rd International Society for Quality in Health Care conference; 2006 Oct 22–25; London. http://www.isqua.org.au/isquaPages/Conferences/London/AbstractsSlides/MON23/AFTERNOON/6%20-%20212-ABS.pdf (accessed May 2008).
  • 3. Coombes I, Mitchell C, Stowasser D. Safe medication practice tutorials: a practical approach to preparing safe prescribers. Clin Teach 2007; 4: 128-134.
  • 4. Dean B, Barber N, Schachter M. What is a prescribing error? Qual Health Care 2000; 9: 232-237.
  • 5. Coombes ID, Stowasser DA, Coombes JA, Mitchell C. Why do interns make prescribing errors? A qualitative study. Med J Aust 2008; 188: 89-94. <MJA full text>

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