Preventing Medication Errors

In 1996 the Institute of Medicine launched the Quality Chasm Series, aseries of reports focused on assessing and improving the nation's quality ofhealth care. Preventing Medication Errors is the newest volume in the series. Responding to the key messages in earlier volumes of the seriesTo Err IsHuman (2000), Crossing the Quality Chasm (2001), and Patient Safety(2004)this book sets forth an agenda for improving the safety of medicationuse. It begins by providing an overview of the system for drug development,regulation, distribution, and use. Preventing Medication Errors alsoexamines the peer-reviewed literature on the incidence and the cost ofmedication errors and the effectiveness of error prevention strategies. Presenting data that will foster the reduction of medication errors, the bookprovides action agendas detailing the measures needed to improve thesafety of medication use in both the short- and long-term. Patients, primaryhealth care providers, health care organizations, purchasers of group healthcare, legislators, and those affiliated with providing medications and medication-related products and services will benefit from this guide to reducingmedication errors.