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IOM estimates at least 15 million adverse drug events preventable
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| Life Extension Update Exclusive IOM estimates at least 1.5 million adverse drug events preventable A report released this month by the National Academy of Sciences Institute of Medicine entitled "Preventing Medical Errors" found that while some of the adverse drug events that occur each year in the United States are inevitable due to the powerful nature of many drugs and their side effects, at least one quarter, or 1.5 million of these "ADE"s are due to errors in prescribing, dispensing, administering, or monitoring medications. Even without taking into account errors of omission in prescribing drugs, the authors of the study note that the true number of preventable errors is probably much higher than the 1.5 million figure. The authors of the IOM report examined a number of recent studies to draw their conclusions, focusing mainly on reports published between 1995 and 2005. They state that on average, a hospital patient is subject to at least one medication error per day (although rates vary across facilities), which increases the cost of hospitalization significantly. One study of Medicare patients estimated a cost of $887 million dollars resulting from the treatment of medication errors each year, which did not include lost earnings or pain and suffering rewards. To combat this situation, the report recommends a greater partnership between patients and health care providers. Patients need to assume more responsibility by monitoring the effects of their medications, keeping records, and communicating with their physicians. In turn, the health care system needs to provide more and better information to patients concerning the medications they are taking, and offer more opportunities for patients to consult with their providers. Additionally, electronic prescription systems should be implemented which will eliminate errors that arise from hand-written prescriptions. These systems also provide information on the drugs being prescribed and can interface with patient history to determine the presence of allergies, or other drugs in use by the patient, and this information can be transferred along with the patient to other facilities. Labeling and packaging of medications by the manufacturer is another area that can be improved to help eliminate medication errors. The authors of the report conclude that "the current state of affairs is not acceptable." They recommend federally funded studies on the prevention of medication errors, and that more training in medication management be required by accreditation agencies. Needless to say, a reduction in the prescription of dangerous, needless, or ineffective drugs and a greater emphasis on preventive medicine would go a long way as well toward reducing adverse drug events, preventable or otherwise. People seeking to reduce their risk of disease are often overwhelmed by the volume of technical data on the subject. For the past 23 years, the Life Extension Foundation has reviewed the published medical literature dating as far back as 1917. Life Extension personnel have dedicated the past 35 years to working with physicians and scientists to develop methods of preventing age-related disease. Each year, the Foundation spends millions of dollars on research projects aimed at extending the healthy human lifespan. Since 1983, the Foundation has reviewed thousands of blood test results of members who have been following antiaging supplement, drug, and hormone-replacement programs. Based on this vast accumulation of data, the Life Extension Foundation has designed a practical disease prevention protocol that is based solely on scientific principles. Before you embark on a program to reduce your risk of degenerative disease, it is important for you to know about scientific studies conducted on humans that show these therapies really work. If you are not aware of these published studies, you may be unlikely to methodically follow a long-term disease prevention program. If you are healthy now and want to stay that way, the Life Extension Foundation has designed protocols that incorporate the best-documented disease-preventing nutrients and hormones. Click here to view Life Extension's Top Recommended Products. https://www.lifeextension.com/protocols Featured Products
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| Questions? Comments? Send them to ddye@lifeextension.com or call 1-800-678-8989. For longer life,  Dayna Dye Sign up for Life Extension Update at https://mycart.lifeextension.com/subscribe.asp Help spread the good news about living longer and healthier. Forward this email to a friend! View previous issues of Life Extension Update in the Newsletter Archive. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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