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Campaign to Stop Deadly Medication Errors Spreads
Outside Hospitals
New brochure on things you can do to prevent
medication mistakes
 Jan.
27, 2005 – More than 7,000 patients die each year in hospitals due to
medication errors. A new effort is being launched today to spread the
word about the deadly results of medication errors outside of just
hospitals. The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare
Organizations, which earlier started a national campaign urging
Americans to "Speak Up" to avoid medication mistakes, is sending to the
nation's Fortune 1000 companies copies of their latest brochure and
poster "Things You Can Do to Prevent Medication Mistakes."
 Medication
mistakes are the most common type of health care error. An Institute of
Medicine report estimates that more than 7,000 patients die each year in
hospitals alone due to medication errors. A Journal of the American
Medical Association study estimates that 100,000 hospital deaths occur
each year due to adverse drug reactions.
While most studies focus only on medication errors
in hospitals, the billions of medications prescribed annually at clinics
and doctors' offices, filled at pharmacies and taken at home are also
prone to error. Some mistakes are more serious than others, but all
medication mistakes can be prevented.
"Employers have a critically important role in
developing informed health care consumers among their employed
workforce," says Charles A. Mowll, FACHE, executive vice president,
Joint Commission. "The Joint Commission is providing this 'Speak Up'
advisory to employers as an additional tool they can use to inform their
employees about the steps they can take to prevent medication mistakes."
"America's workers are our most valuable asset," says Gerry Shea,
assistant to the president for Government Affairs, AFL-CIO. "The Speak
Up initiative helps the public play an important role in keeping
themselves and their loved ones safe by taking some very easy steps at
the doctor's office, pharmacy, hospital and clinic."
"Employee misuse of prescription medications
contributes to many human capital issues employers face on a day-to-day
basis, including absenteeism, disability, worker's compensation and
safety," says Louise Hartley, president, Employee Assistance Society of
North America. "Employers have a vested interest in, as well as a unique
forum for, raising public awareness about the human and financial costs
of medication errors."
In addition to sharing the brochure, the Joint
Commission is asking employers to encourage their employees to complete
the wallet card entitled "My Medication List," which people can share
with their pharmacists, doctors and other caregivers as part of any
routine or emergency treatment. The brochure, wallet card and poster may
be freely downloaded from the Joint Commission website,
http://www.jcaho.org. The education materials may also be obtained
by calling Joint Commission Resources Customer Service at 877-223-6866,
8 a.m. to 8 p.m. CT, Monday through Friday.
"Many employers are eager to provide their
employees with tools to assist them as health care consumers," says
Sheryl Niebuhr, Ph.D., manager, Total Compensation Resource Center, 3M
Corporation. "Tools, such as those provided in the Speak Up campaign,
help us support our employees in managing their personal health and in
getting quality, safe, and effective health care. When that happens, we
all win," she continues.
Steps people can take to avoid medication errors at
the doctor's office or pharmacy include:
-
Keeping a list of current prescription and
over-the-counter medicines, vitamins, herbs and supplements and
sharing this with your doctor. Use the Joint Commission's free "My
Medication List" as a handy reference.
-
Reminding your doctor about any allergies or
reactions.
-
Asking your doctor whether it's safe to take
medications together, or to use certain medications if you take
vitamins, herbs and other supplements.
-
Understanding that more may not always be
better. Ask your doctor how a new medication will help.
-
Making sure you can read the doctor's
handwriting on all prescriptions. If you can't read it, the
pharmacist may not be able to either.
-
Read the label on your prescription. Does it
have your name on it? And is it the correct medicine? Some medicines
have names that sound alike and can be confused.
-
Finding out whether drinking alcohol is safe
with your medicine.
-
At the hospital or clinic, patients and their
families can avoid mistakes by:
-
Making sure the doctor or nurse checks your
wristband and asks your name before giving medicine.
-
Asking the doctor or nurse why you should take
a medication and requesting written information about the brand
name, generic name and any side effects.
-
Speaking up if you think the doctor or nurse is
about to give you the wrong medicine.
-
Knowing what time you normally take a medicine
and letting the doctor or nurse know if that doesn't happen.
-
Telling your nurse or doctor if you don't feel
well after receiving a medicine.
-
Asking a friend or relative to get the facts
about your medications if you are not well enough to do so.
The Joint Commission is undertaking the medication
safety campaign as part of its award-winning "Speak Up" program that
urges patients to take an increasingly active role in their own health
care. The information on preventing medication mistakes will be provided
through the basic framework of the "Speak Up" campaign, which urges
patients to:
-
Speak up if you have questions or concerns, and
if you don't understand, ask again. It's your body and you have a
right to know.
-
Pay attention to the care you are receiving.
Make sure you're getting the right treatments and medications by the
right health care professionals. Don't assume anything.
-
Educate yourself about your diagnosis, the
medical tests you are undergoing, and your treatment plan.
-
Ask a trusted family member or friend to be
your advocate. Know what medications you take and why you take them.
Medication errors are the most common health care errors.
-
Use a hospital, clinic, surgery center, or
other type of health care organization that has undergone a rigorous
on-site evaluation against established state-of-the-art quality and
safety standards, such as that provided by the Joint Commission.
-
Participate in all decisions about your
treatment. You are the center of the health care team.
SOURCE: Founded in 1951, the Joint Commission on
Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations seeks to continuously improve
the safety and quality of care provided to the public through the
provision of health care accreditation and related services that support
performance improvement in health care organizations. The Joint
Commission evaluates and accredits more than 15,000 health care
organizations and programs in the United States, including more than
7,800 hospitals and home care organizations, and more than 7,300 other
health care organizations that provide long term care, assisted living,
behavioral health care, laboratory and ambulatory care services. The
Joint Commission also accredits health plans, integrated delivery
networks, and other managed care entities. In addition, the Joint
Commission provides certification of disease-specific care programs and
primary stroke centers. An independent, not-for-profit organization, the
Joint Commission is the nation's oldest and largest standards- setting
and accrediting body in health care.
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