We Can Do More to Avoid Medication Errors
Harvey V. Fineberg, MD, PhD
At least one and a half million serious, preventable medication errors occur every year in the United States. These medication errors occur at home, in nursing homes, and in hospitals. They can be life-threatening, and they are costly. In hospitals alone, medication errors lead to at least $3.5 billion of needless medical costs, and this does not include lost wages and productivity from illness caused by medication errors.
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Posted 11/27/06
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Focus on Harm, Not Errors
11/14/2006
While alarm continues to mount over the high number of unintended medical errors that occur in health care institutions, the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) is working with patient safety leaders to shift the focus away from counting errors. What really matters, argue these change agents, is the harm that patients suffer - some of it due to errors, but most of it resulting from flawed systems within which highly skilled providers operate.
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Posted 11-17-2006 |
San Diego Medication Safety Task Force Creates Unique Collaboration for Safer Use of Intravenous Medications
SAN DIEGO, Nov. 15 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Local hospitals throughout San Diego County, along with San Diego Patient Safety Consortium and the Cardinal Health Center for Safety and Clinical Excellence, today announced the results of a first-of-its-kind regional task force to improve patient safety by eliminating variation in intravenous (IV) medication practices among county hospitals.
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Posted: 11-27-2006
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Bar codes slice medication errors in hospital pharmacy, study finds
09/20/2006
Pharmacy bar coding systems can cut medication error rates by as much as 85%, although success varies depending on the protocols governing the technology's use, according to a study in yesterday's Annals of Internal Medicine. The study-conducted by researchers at the 747-bed Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston-compared dispensing errors, administration mishaps, and potential adverse drug event (ADE) rates for 115,000 doses dispensed prior to the implementation of bar coding technology and 254,000 doses dispensed after the bar coding technology went live.
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Posted: 9-21-2006 |
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