A recent University of California study reports a striking increase in fatal medication errors (FMEs) over the last 22 years.  The study examined accidental deaths occurring at home, but also included deaths occurring away from home.  The deaths were further categorized into those involving alcohol and/or street drugs and those not involving alcohol and/or street drugs.

The most striking increase in FMEs was with those that occurred at home, especially those involving alcohol and/or street drugs (a 3,196% increase).  FMEs at home, not involving alcohol and/or street drugs increased by 564%.   FMEs that occurred away from home involving alcohol and/or street drugs increased by 555%.  Finally, FMEs away from home, but not involving alcohol and/or street drugs increased by 5%.

Shifts in health care have resulted in reduced professional oversight and increased patient responsibility for monitoring medication use.  Information therapy prescriptions can play a critical role in complementing medication prescriptions.  If consumers are expected to manage increasingly complex - and potentially dangerous - drug regimes, they need access to tailored information to help them do so safely.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, August 12th, 2008 at 11:16 am and is filed under Data, Hospital Discharge, Patient Safety, Research. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.