Medication Errors Can Be Prevented

Pharmacists Group Advocates Consumers Work With Their Health Care Professionals

LANSING, Mich. – Although a recent Institutes of Medicine report stated that tens of thousands of Americans die annually as a result of medication errors, many medication errors can be prevented if patients become more involved in their own health care, according to the Michigan Pharmacists Association (MPA).

The association contends that a combination of enhanced relationships between patients and their healthcare practitioners and improved pharmacy systems can significantly reduce the number of medication errors that occur each year.

"Patients need to be proactive as it relates to their health by thoroughly discussing their prescriptions with their pharmacists and prescribers," said Larry Wagenknecht, R.Ph., MPA CEO. "The simple act of asking your pharmacist how best to take your medication and how the medication works can make sure you are receiving the right drug, thus preventing dangerous errors from occurring."

To educate Michigan’s pharmacy professionals about the issue of medication errors, the association presented programs on the topic of medication errors during its Feb. 18-20 Annual Convention & Exposition at the Hyatt Regency in Dearborn.

The issue of medication errors is receiving national attention, as President Bill Clinton has called for immediate action to address the problem. Due to the complexity of the problem, MPA points out that developing a solution for reducing medication errors is not as simple as requiring errors to be reported.

"Mandatory reporting of medication errors to state agencies, and associated punitive action, suppresses reporting and discourages the kind of open discussion about errors necessary to develop and disseminate appropriate safety strategies," said Michael Cohen, R.Ph., M.S., president of the Institute for Safe Medication Errors, who has 25 years of experience dealing with medication error prevention and voluntary error reporting. "Conversely, voluntary reporting has been far more successful at garnering a sufficient number of error reports, providing expert analysis, and disseminating high-leverage safety strategies effectively. Healthcare providers and others (including managers, oversight agencies, FDA, and healthcare goods and services companies) must be held accountable for the implementation of appropriate safety practices identified through expert analysis of errors, not for an absence of errors."

MPA also recommends that patients follow "Ten Tips on Medication Safety" issued by the United States Pharmacopeia (full text available from www.usp.org):

1. Talk with your prescriber about your prescription.

2. Make sure you can read the prescription you receive from your prescriber.

3. Understand what illness the drug is treating.

4. Check the label when you get your prescription.

5. Ask your pharmacist to explain the drug and how it works.

6. Ask your pharmacist for printed information about your prescription.

7. When you get a refill, make sure it is the same drug.

8. Keep records of your medications.

9. Purchase a drug information guide.

10. If you are sight impaired, ask for assistance from your pharmacist to help you tell your medications apart from one another.

###