Follow up DFGSM2 6 – Do More To Avoid Medication Errors

Watch the video & take notes on a sheet of paper

 

Once you have registered on Medscape, reach the page http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/546881
When you have finished, click on each item below to see the answer.

Harvey V. Fineberg, We Can Do More to Avoid Medication Errors – Medscape – Nov 10, 2006.

 

1. Number of serious preventable medication errors annually in the US:

At least one and a half million

2. Where they occur:

- at home
- in nursing homes
- in hospitals

3. Problems they trigger:

- can be life threatening
- cost a lot of money

4. Cost:

- in hospitals alone: at least $3.5 billion of needless medical costs
- lost wages and productivity from illness caused by medication errors

5. Reason for medication errors & examples:

- Americans take a huge number of medications
- during the next week, 4 out of 5 US adults will use prescription medicines, over-the-counter drugs, or dietary supplements
- nearly one third of adults take or more different medications

6. What should be the rule:

- getting the right drug
- in the right dose
- delivered by the right route
- to the right patient
- at the right time
- every time

7. Recent report to reduce medication errors:

- By: Institute of Medicine
- Title: Preventing Medication Errors
- First: Food and Drug Administration should work with manufacturers and consumer groups to redesign medication package inserts to ensure that they are simple to read, understandable, and useful to consumers Drug names should be standardized and pills shaped, so that 2 medicines with very different purposes neither sound alike nor look alike
- Second: by 2010, all doctors and pharmacies should rely on electronic prescribing systems that reduce transcription errors and can automatically detect potential cross-reactions from different medicines in the same patient
- Finally: consumers should be active partners in their medication care. You and your family have a right to know the medicine and dosage you are taking and why you are taking it. Your life may depend on getting your medicine right

8. Transfer the information to a colleague. Remember to adopt a top-down approach. Read the transcript & check with your teacher. Submit your essay to your teacher for correction & feedback.

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