With the release of its 1999 report, "To Err is Human: Building a Safer Health System", the Institute of Medicine issued a call for better reporting of medical errors and for developing comprehensive systems that will reduce risks, including those associated with prescription drugs. This session will discuss efforts to reduce medication errors and the morbidity associated with adverse drug reactions from the point of view of the federal government, hospital systems and consumers. It will describe the activities of an interagency patient safety task force and the systematic programs developed by the Veterans Administration health care system, as well as recent proposals to improve drug labelling information and to better educate consumers.
Learning Objectives: Following this session, participants will be able to: 1. Discuss the recent trends related to medication errors in various healthcare environments 2. Describe the activities of an interagency patient safety task force and the systematic programs developed by the Veterans Administration health care system. 3. Describe the recent initiatives of a national health education organization to improve medication labeling and information to patients.
Keywords: Drug Safety, Prescription Drug Use Patterns
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: None
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.