Preventing Medication Errors

The prevention of adverse effects linked to drug errors requires a commitment to record all problems, analyse them in depth, and enforce safe working practices for all health professionals.

Abstract

1 Front Matter 2 Summary 3 1 Introduction 4 Part I Understanding the Causes and Costs of Medication Errors 5 2 Overview of the Drug Development, Regulation, Distribution, and Use System 6 3 Medication Errors: Incidence and Cost 7 Part II Moving Toward a Patient-Centered, Integrated Medication-Use System 8 4 Action Agenda to Support the Consumer-Provider-Partnership 9 5 Action Agenda for Health Care Organizations 10 6 Action Agenda for the Pharmaceutical, Medical Device, and Health Information Technology Industries 11 7 Applied Research Agenda for Safe Medication Use 12 8 Action Agendas for Oversight, Regulation, and Payment 13 Appendix A Biographical Sketches of Committee Members 14 Appendix B Glossary of Terms and Acronyms 15 Appendix C Medication Errors: Incidence Rates 16 Appendix D Medication Errors: Prevention Strategies 17 Index