Drug errors harm 1.5 million per year: IOM

Medication errors harm 1.5 million people a year in the U.S., kill several thousand and cost the nation's healthcare system at least $3.5 billion, says a new report from the Institute of Medicine. They're so common that patients should expect to experience an average of one for each day they're in the hospital, although most don't cause harm, the report said.

While information technology can play a key role in correcting the problems on the providers' side, with computer systems that check for toxic interactions and bar coding to identify the correct patient and the correct medication, drug companies and patients also have responsibilities. The report called on drug companies to put a lid on free drug samples to doctors, which are poorly controlled, and to disclose the results of all clinical trials involving their drugs. Patients should keep lists of all their medications and bring them to every doctor's appointment or hospital admission.

- read this article from The New York Times

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