The Monthly Dangers of Inaccurate Prescribing.
According to research undertaken by the Cornell University
medical faculty on behalf of the Clinicians Reform Society of
America, the sudden and otherwise unexplained deaths attributed
to medication errors rise by as much as 25 percent above normal
in the first few days of every month. This quantitative study is
the first to document and explore a trend in a 'beginning of the
month' boost in deaths associated with mistakes in prescription
drugs.
The primary culprit behind these death rates is thought to be
the fact that in the first few days of each month, the regular
increase in pharmacy workloads leads to a consequential increase
in the associated error rates.
To offer a further explanation of this occurrence, one
sociologist stated, "Government assistance payments to the old,
sick and the poor are typically received at the beginning of
each month. Because of this, there is a beginning of the month
spike in purchases of prescription
medications. Unfortunately along with this comes a spike in
errors."
However, further findings suggest otherwise. Researchers at
Cornell examined all United States death certificates from 1970
to 2000 to analyze some 131,000 deaths caused by fatal poisoning
accidents from drugs. They found that a small number (3 percent)
of the deaths were from adverse effects of the right drug taken
at the right dose, while the majority of deaths (97 percent)
resulted from medication errors such as;
- Pharmacists dispensing the wrong dose - Accidental overdose of
a prescription drug - An incorrect or stale drug taken
inadvertently
It was also discovered that the beginning of the month spike in
deaths was apparent in the young and well as in the elderly and
poor, indicating the problem is partially due to pharmacy error.
However the study did not include specific clinical information
regarding prescription type, dosage or days supply, nor did it
include deaths associated with overdose of street drugs or from
intentional poisoning.
In order to reduce the death rate due to medication error,
researchers recommended that pharmacies consider increasing
staffing levels at the beginning of each month. Also, it was
suggested that government officials consider spreading
assistance payments out over the entire month, rather than the
beginning. Finally it was suggested that both patients and
clinical staff to make a special effort to check the accuracy of
their prescriptions at the beginning of each month.
So there you have it. Please consider this as a timely warning
to check all your medication for accuracy and dosage.
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