Preventing Medication Errors: What YOU Need to Know / What YOU Need to Do
Annual NCPIE observance works to improve medicine communication/
reduce medication errors
Bethesda, MD: During any week, four out of every five U.S. adults will use prescription or over-the-counter (OTC) medications or dietary supplements, and nearly one-third of adults will take five or more different medications. Most of the nearly 4 billion prescriptions filled annually help, or at least cause no harm -- but sometimes they injure the person taking them. Hospitalized patients can expect to be subjected to more than one medication error each day. Conservatively, the Institute of Medicine, in a recent report concludes that there are at least 1.5 million preventable adverse drug events (ADEs) in the U.S. each year - and it may even be much higher.1
Some of these ADEs are inevitable, but sometimes the harm is caused by an error in prescribing or taking the medication - and these damages can be prevented. To help combat medication errors, the National Council on Patient Information and Education (NCPIE) today dedicated its 2006 "Talk About Prescriptions" Month observance to this important public health topic.
Reducing medication errors will take a concerted effort by every member of what NCPIE calls the medicine education team. "The patient or caregiver is a key member of this team since the decision to start, stop, or correctly continue medication therapy resides ultimately with the patient," said Phillip Schneider, NCPIE Chairman. "Doctors, physician assistants, nurse practitioners, pharmacists, and other healthcare providers must communicate more effectively with patients, including fully informing about the risks, contraindications, and possible side effects of the medications they are taking and what to do if they experience a side effect," noted NCPIE's Schneider.
NCPIE's 21st annual "Talk About Prescriptions" Month messages and materials encourage patients and their caregivers to take a more active role in preventing medication errors by keeping careful records of all the medications they are taking and taking greater responsibility for monitoring those medications by, for example, double checking prescriptions from pharmacies and reporting any unexpected changes in how they feel after starting a new medication. Practical tips and techniques for healthcare providers are included at www.talkaboutrx.org. Preventing medication errors is achievable, but only if consumers and their healthcare providers work together every time medicines are part of the treatment plan.
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1 Preventing Medication Errors Quality Chasm Series. Committee on Identifying and Preventing Medication Errors, Institute of Medicine. See http://www.iom.edu/CMS/3809/22526/35939.aspx
Organized in 1982, The National Council on Patient Information (NCPIE) is a non-profit coalition of over 100 organizations committed to stimulating and improving communication between consumers and health care professionals about the safe and appropriate use of medicines. In addition to sponsoring "Talk About Prescriptions" Month (http://www.talkaboutrx.org), NCPIE hosts the "Be MedWise" campaign promoting wise use of over-the-counter medicines (http://www.bemedwise.org).
Tips for Consumers
What YOU Can Do to Avoid Medication Errors*
At Home
KEEP an updated list of the prescription and nonprescription medicines & other products like vitamins and minerals, you are taking.
TAKE your medicine list with you every time you visit a healthcare provider and have him or her review it.
At the Doctor's Office
- HAVE the doctor, physician's assistant or nurse practitioner write down the name of the medicine (brand & generic, if available), what it is for, its dosage, and how often to take it, or provide other written material with this information.
- HAVE the prescriber explain how to use the medicine properly.
- ASK about side effects and what to do if you experience a side effect.
At the Pharmacy
- KNOW that you can review your list of medications with the pharmacist for additional safety.
- KNOW that you have the right to counseling by the pharmacist if you have any questions. For example, you can ask the pharmacist to explain how to properly take the medicine, the side effects of the medicine, and what to do if you think you are starting to develop a side effect.
At the Hospital (Inpatient Care)
- ASK the doctor or nurse what medicines you are being given.
- DO NOT take a medicine without being told the purpose for doing so.
- EXERCISE your right to have someone with you whenever you are being given medicine and are not able to carefully follow the medication-use process yourself.
- BEFORE SURGERY, ASK whether there are medications, especially prescription antibiotics, that you should take or any that you should stop taking.
- BEFORE YOU GO HOME, ASK for a list of the medications that you should be taking at home, have a healthcare provider review the medicines with you, and be sure you understand how to take these medicines.
Not sure about what you need to know and do when it comes to taking your medicine? Follow this important rule: When in doubt, ask first! Your healthcare professionals can help you get the facts you need to use medicines safely.
National Council on Patient Information and Education
www.talkaboutrx.org
* Adapted from Preventing Medication Errors, Institute of Medicine, July 2006.
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