Prescription Drug Safety – May 2004

Patient safety and medication errors have become prominent issues on the national health care agenda. It is estimated that each year approximately 7,000 people die in and out of hospitals due to medication errors – about 16 percent more deaths than the number attributable to work-related injuries, according to the National Patient Safety Foundation. Estimated hospital costs of medication errors are around $2 billion annually, not including malpractice costs or costs of injuries to patients (Lassetter & Warnick, 2003).