Avoiding Medical Errors

Medication errors are among the most common medical errors, harming at least 1.5 million people every year. The problem is so serious that, on average, a hospital patient is subject to at least one medication error per day.

These are among the findings in a report released Thursday by the Institute of Medicine, chartered by Congress to advise the government on science and medical issues.
The extra costs of treating medication-related injuries occurring in hospitals alone conservatively amount to $3.5 billion a year, the report states. The IOM panel estimates that at least a quarter of these injuries are preventable. This is the bad news.

The better news is that the Institute of Medicine provides a Fact Sheet on what you can do to avoid these errors at home, as outpatient or inpatient, and at the pharmacy.