Honestmed
Friday, July 21, 2006
1.5 million medication errors
Medication errors harm 1.5 million Americans every year
Medication errors made in hospitals and clinics around the country harm at least 1.5 million Americans every year, according to a study by the National Academy of Sciences.
"There are at least 1.5 million preventable ADEs (adverse drug events) that occur in the United States each year," 7,000 of which result in deaths, the academy's Institute of Medicine said in Thursday's report.
"The true number may be much higher," it added.
In terms of money, the mistakes cost the US health care system around 3.5 billion dollars a year, without factoring in the loss of work-hours by its victims, said the institute, which offers the government independent counselling on health issues.
"What is most striking about these statistics is that much of this harm is preventable, since a variety of strategies and techniques exist for reducing medication errors," the researchers said.
Health providers should be more forthcoming about medication errors and their consequences, and "make greater use of information technologies in prescribing and dispensing medications."
It highly recommended the use of electronic prescriptions, or e-prescriptions, to "avoid many of the mistakes that accompany handwritten prescriptions." All prescribers and pharmacies, it added, should use e-prescriptions by 2010.
"Furthermore, by tying e-prescriptions in with the patient's medical history, it is possible to check automatically for such things as drug allergies, drug-drug interactions and overly high doses," it added.
The Institute of Medicine estimated that, on average, at least one patient per hospital per day risks being prescribed or administered the wrong medication. ¶ 1:10 PM 0 comments
Medication errors made in hospitals and clinics around the country harm at least 1.5 million Americans every year, according to a study by the National Academy of Sciences.
"There are at least 1.5 million preventable ADEs (adverse drug events) that occur in the United States each year," 7,000 of which result in deaths, the academy's Institute of Medicine said in Thursday's report.
"The true number may be much higher," it added.
In terms of money, the mistakes cost the US health care system around 3.5 billion dollars a year, without factoring in the loss of work-hours by its victims, said the institute, which offers the government independent counselling on health issues.
"What is most striking about these statistics is that much of this harm is preventable, since a variety of strategies and techniques exist for reducing medication errors," the researchers said.
Health providers should be more forthcoming about medication errors and their consequences, and "make greater use of information technologies in prescribing and dispensing medications."
It highly recommended the use of electronic prescriptions, or e-prescriptions, to "avoid many of the mistakes that accompany handwritten prescriptions." All prescribers and pharmacies, it added, should use e-prescriptions by 2010.
"Furthermore, by tying e-prescriptions in with the patient's medical history, it is possible to check automatically for such things as drug allergies, drug-drug interactions and overly high doses," it added.
The Institute of Medicine estimated that, on average, at least one patient per hospital per day risks being prescribed or administered the wrong medication. ¶ 1:10 PM 0 comments
