Research Article | Volume: 16, Issue: 8, August, 2026

Risk Factors Related to Drug Duplication in a Health Services Provider: A Case-control Study

Johan Granados,  Carlos Gómez,  Milena Ortiz Rendón,  Newar Giraldo,  Jaime Andrés Pereañez   

Johan Granados1,2, Carlos Gómez3, Milena Ortiz Rendón1, Newar Giraldo1,3, Jaime Andrés Pereañez1

1Research Group on Pharmaceutical Promotion and Prevention, Faculty of Pharmaceutical and Food Sciences, University of Antioquia, Medellín, Antioquia, Colombia.

2Research Group on Technology in Pharmacy Regency, Faculty of Pharmaceutical and Food Sciences, University of Antioquia, Medellín, Antioquia, Colombia.

3Cielum Health, Medellín, Antioquia, Colombia.

Open Access   

Published:  Jun 23, 2026

DOI: 10.1177/22313354261453148
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Abstract

Polypharmacy, defined as the concurrent use of five or more drugs, can lead to drug duplication (DD), which is considered a medication error that increases costs to the health systems. The key objectives of this study are to characterize DD in a population receiving care at a Health Services Provider Institution and identify factors associated with DD. This study was a retrospective case-control study. Controls were selected using 1:4 propensity-score matching based on age, sex, geographic location, and socioeconomic status. This study revealed a 1.67% prevalence of DD over 6 months. The most prescribed drugs were: Levothyroxine, Acetaminophen and Losartan. A logistic regression was used to calculate the odds ratio (OR), which showed a relationship between DD and the number of medications (OR: 1.355, 95% CI: 1.324–1.386), number of pathologies (OR: 1.314, 95% CI: 1.272–1.357), number of emergency cases (OR: 3.470, 95% CI: 1.679–7.170), number of hospitalizations (OR: 1.130, 95% CI: 1.019–1.253), inconsistent drug claim (OR: 2.131, 95% CI: 1.937–2.344), and laboratory test off target (OR: 1.399, 95% CI: 1.228–1.593). The study showed DD prevalence in a health services provider from a low-to-middle income country. The main findings indicated that polypharmacy, suffering from several pathologies, hospitalizations, and visits to emergency departments, increases the risk of DD.


Keyword:     Medication errors case-control studies drug duplication polypharmacy medication safety clinical decision support systems

Citation:

Granados J, Gómez C, Rendón MO, Giraldo N, Pereañez JA. Risk Factors Related to Drug Duplication in a Health Services Provider: A Case-control Study. J Appl Pharm Sci. 2026;16(8):723-730. https://doi.org/10.1177/22313354261453148

Copyright: © The Author(s). This open-access article is distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License, which permits non-commercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution, and reproduction in any medium or format, provided appropriate credit is given, a link to the license is included, and any changes are indicated.
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