Medication mix-ups doubled since 2000
A damning new study has found the number of medication mix-ups has doubled since 2000. In addition, researchers from the Central Ohio Poison Centre have discovered that these mistakes are more likely to occur in the home rather than in health care facilities.
“We know that a third of the cases in this study resulted in hospital admissions, so these aren't minor errors,” lead author, Nichole Hodges, told the Huffington Post. “Fortunately, most do not result in the serious outcomes found in this study.”
The researchers found that 67,000 medicinal errors over 13 years occurred in the patient’s home, with 414 cases resulting in death. It’s estimated that around 1.5 million medication mistakes occur in the US alone each year.
Despite human error on the patient’s part being the most likely cause of these mix-ups, the study’s co-author, Henry Spiller, says part of the blame lies with drug manufacturers and pharmacists. “There is room for improvement in product packaging and labelling,” he said. “Dosing instructions could be made clearer, especially for patients and caregivers with limited literacy or numeracy.”
To minimise the risk of errors with your medication, Hodges recommends maintaining a comprehensive log of their medicines – their dosages, time taken, any missed doses etc. Keeping an up-to-date record, as well as speaking to your doctor and pharmacist about how the drug should be used, is your best defence against any mix-ups.