The Health Quality and Safety Commission have introduced a new National Medication Chart to ensure safe prescription process.

The new measure has been introduced keeping in mind the rising number of patients suffering from prescription problems.

Dr. David Galler, Board Member of Health Quality and Safety Commission and Intensive Care Specialist at Middlemore Hospital said that patents are often given wrong prescription by doctors, which could cause serious harm to the health of patients due to which some patients will have to spend extra time in the hospital and will require additional medication or procedures.

The new medication system will ensure that the patients are treated safely and effectively. Dr. Galler said that District Health Boards (DHBs) throughout the country are working hard to reduce medication errors.

Dr. Galler further said that another effective way of reducing medication errors is through the use of a formal medicine reconciliation process.

These strict measures were adopted by the Health Quality and Safety Commission after the death of Shirley Curtis, who was wrongly given 10-times the prescribed dose of metaprolol, a beta blocker medicine by a nurse at North Shore Hospital.