Medication Safety: Educated Patients Are Safer | DC Metro Area Medical Malpractice Law Blog

A report issued by the Institute of Medicine, stated that 1.5 million Americans are negatively affected by mistakes in the prescribing and administration of medication. The report suggests that implementation of electronic prescribing programs which are capable of cross checking the myriad of factors that can determine a patient’s reaction to a drug will decrease those negative outcomes. Furthermore, the report recommends measures to increase the amount of drug information accessible to the public. Most importantly, the report called for an enhanced dialog between patient and physician in order educate patients regarding to their medications.

The Institute of Medicine has suggested the following steps to promote greater patient awareness.

• Keep careful records of all medication that they are taking.
• Double check prescriptions from the pharmacy.
• Immediately report changes in how they feel after starting a new medication.