Federal Study Indicates Spike in Medication Errors
According to a study by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, there has been a 50% increase in the number of medication errors reported from around the country. Five years after a report by the Institute of Medicine warned that medication errors contributed to a $3.5 billion bill in medical costs, lost wages and other related expenses every year, the number of medication errors injuring people every year has not dropped, but has actually increased. This should concern any Atlanta pharmacy error lawyer.
What’s worse is that the number of medication errors could actually be higher than the report claims. The report only considered those mistakes that left people ill enough to rush to a hospital or emergency room.
According to the study, most cases of medication errors are related to the use of corticosteroids. These are followed by cancer drugs, hypertension drugs, cardiac medications and blood thinners. Elderly persons above the age of 65 are more susceptible to medication errors. Teenagers and children are also at a higher risk of medication errors than adults. About one in every five patients who suffer from medication errors, is a teenager or a child.
The report doesn't contain much information about whether these errors involved wrong prescription or wrong dosage information by the doctor, or whether the error involved a wrong dose dispensed by a pharmacist. They also don't inform us about whether these errors occurred at home when patients took the wrong dose or the wrong medication. However, a 50% increase is a staggering spike, and the Agency for Research and Quality is likely to do more research into the causes of the increase.
