Provider Drug Safety Information

Medication errors are among the most common medical errors, harming at least 1.5 million people every year. According to a report from the Institute of Medicine (IOM), the extra medical costs of treating drug-related injuries occurring in hospitals alone conservatively amount to $3.5 billion a year.

In its 2007 Preventing Medication Errors report, the IOM estimated that, on average, hospitalized patients are subject to at least one medication error per day: this translates to 400,000 drug-related injuries in hospitals each year. Another 800,000 drug-related injuries occur in long-term-care settings, and roughly 530,000 occur just among Medicare recipients in outpatient clinics. The IOM estimates that at least a quarter of all medication-related injuries are preventable.

Health Services Advisory Group, Inc., as the Medicare Quality Improvement Organization for California, provides the following drug-safety information, resources, tools, and guidance on quality improvement methods to assist health care providers and patients in preventing medication-related injuries. Health care providers may request additional assistance in improving drug-safety processes by contacting HSAG.

For more information on HSAG's Provider Drug Safety initiative, please visit the links below.

• Resources
  
• Tools
  
• Quality Improvement
  

For patient educational tools and information, please click here.

This content is for informational purposes only.