According to research, deaths attributed to medication errors rise
by as much as 25 percent above normal in the first few days of every
month. This study is the first to document a beginning-of-the-month
boost in deaths associated with mistakes in prescription drugs.
The Problem
The primary culprit behind these death rates: A beginning-of-the-month
increase in pharmacy workloads and a consequential increase in their
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."
However, further findings suggest otherwise.
Researchers 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:
- Wrong dose given or taken
- Accidental overdose of a drug
- A 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.
(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.)
The Solution
In order to reduce the medication-error death rate researchers
recommended:
- Pharmacies to consider increasing staffing levels at the beginning
of each month
- Government officials to consider spreading assistance payments
out over the entire month, rather than the beginning
- Both patients and clinical staff to make a special effort to
check the accuracy of their prescriptions at the beginning of
each month
Science
Daily January 6, 2005
| 