How Common Are Medication Errors?
Hey, Brian, how common are medication errors? Medication errors. Medication errors probably happen somewhere around one point three to one point five million times a year in the United States. Somewhere between seven and nine thousand people will die in the United States this year from medication errors. A lot of these errors are due to the wrong dosage of the medication being given to a patient. Patient safety experts have come up with medication, safe practices and a center around what's called the five rights of medication use. And this is particularly useful in hospitals. And those five rights are to make sure you have the right patient. The patients receiving the right drug, that is the drug that's actually been ordered by their physician. The patient receives the drug at the right time. The patient receives the right dose and the patient receives the drug by the right route, whether it's oral or I.V. or subcutaneous injection. Those are the five rights of safe practice patient medication administration in the hospital.