A patient hospitalized in the U.S. will experience at least one medication error each day. This translates into approximately 1.5 million preventable adverse drug events (ADEs) caused by medication errors, costing the U.S. government an estimated $3.5 billion each year. Troubled by these statistics, Congress requested in 2003 that the Institute Of Medicine (IOM) study the frequency of medication errors and formulate a national agenda to reduce its prevalence. The IOM found that medication errors are even more common than previously thought, and extremely costly to the U.S. health care system. The report suggests many areas for change, including a shift in the patient-provider relationship, increased use of information technology, improved medication labeling and packaging, as well as several policy initiatives.
IOM Report: Preventing Medication Errors, July 2006.
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