Drug Prescription Practices and Patient Safety Among Physicians: A Cross-sectional Study

Background: Prescription and medication errors account for a significant proportion of preventable adverse events affecting patients. This study aimed to assess physicians’ knowledge, attitudes, and prescribing practices related to medication safety and to identify factors associated with good prescribing practices. Methods: A cross-sectional study was designed to survey physicians working at tertiary and major specialty hospitals in Diyala Governorate, Iraq. Data were collected among 137 respondents between March and August 2025 using a structured questionnaire consisting of 32 items assessing sociodemographic characteristics, knowledge of safe prescribing, attitudes toward medication safety, and prescribing practices. Descriptive statistics, chi-square tests, and binary logistic regression analysis were performed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences, version 26 (IBM SPSS Corp.; Armonk, NY, USA). Results: The mean age of participating physicians was 41.2 ± 8.6 years, and 59.9% were females. The mean knowledge score was 7.14 ± 1.86, indicating moderate to good knowledge of safe prescribing practices. Physicians demonstrated positive attitudes toward medication safety with a mean attitude score of 38.4 ± 5.1. However, the mean prescribing practice score was 34.16 ± 6.27, and only 38 physicians (27.7%) demonstrated good prescribing practices. Logistic regression analysis identified training on safe prescribing (OR = 2.84; 95% CI: 1.31-6.12; P = .008) and knowledge level (OR = 1.32; 95% CI: 1.05-1.66; P = .02) as independent predictors of good prescribing practice. Conclusion: Despite adequate knowledge and positive attitudes, physicians’ prescribing practices were suboptimal. Training programs and improved pharmacological knowledge are essential to enhance prescribing safety and reduce medication errors.