Steroid treatment cards: patient safety remains at risk

摘要

The British National Formulary advises that all patients prescribed corticosteroids for more than 3 weeks are issued with a steroid treatment card that they carry on their person at all times.1 An audit was carried out to determine if these guidelines are being met in patients receiving palliative care at Willow Wood Hospice. A similar survey carried out by Zeppetella in 1998, and published in a letter to this journal, revealed that 43% of patients referred to St Joseph's Hospice, London, did not have a steroid treatment card,2 and I was interested to determine if practice had now improved.