Medication Errors -- A Threat To Patient Safety: Mitigating Errors With Tablet Appearance

By Jay Anbil and Steve Yoder

Medical prescription drug errors by doctors, pharmacists and patients account for 1.5 million incidences of sickness, injuries or deaths in the U.S. each year. Thirty percent of these unnecessary adverse events are attributed to human errors in identifying drugs and dosages. In fact, more people die from adverse drug events each year than from highway accidents, breast cancer, or complications from HIV.

Medical advancements and continued efforts to improve the quality of healthcare have only increased the demand for medications. Thus more medications will likely increase the scope for adverse drug events.