Audit: prescription of ‘as required’ (p.r.n.) medication in an in-patient setting

Aims and method This audit examines the quality of ‘as required’ (p.r.n.) prescribing for in-patients before and after standard setting. Results There were improvements in writing oral/intramuscular prescriptions and in the use of different drugs regularly and p.r.n. There was a trend for improvement in completion of guidelines for those on high doses but completion was not influenced by hidden p.r.n. prescribing. Writing p.r.n. prescriptions as a ranged dose was common and did not improve significantly. Clinical implications By using some simple measures, improvements in some aspects of potentially problematic p.r.n. medication can be achieved.