|
|
Article: Rx for costly medication errors.
- Article from:
- AZ Daily Star
- Article date:
- July 21, 2006
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2006 The Arizona Daily Star. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
|
Byline: Jane Erikson
Jul. 21--Medication errors are injuring at least 1.5 million Americans each year, says a new study headed by a University of Arizona expert.
One of the report's more shocking findings is that in hospitals, every patient is exposed to at least one medication error a day, on average -- for an estimated total of 400,000 preventable mistakes each year. And when an error occurs, it adds $6,000, on average, to a patient's hospital bill. "The good news is, all of these types of injuries are preventable, using different strategies," said J. Lyle Bootman, UA pharmacy dean and chairman of the committee that produced the report for ...