Medication Error Prevention is Goal of New Network
Medication errors are a serious and growing problem in the United States. Such errors kill one person a day and injure another 1.3 million people each year. Those statistics prompted the formation of a new network to prevent medication errors. The two medical organizations, the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) and the Institute for Safe Medication Practices (ISMP), have joined forces to reduce medication errors. The new coalition will be called the National Alert Network for Serious Medication Errors and will be triggered when a harmful medication error has occurred.
“This rapid system of sharing information with physicians, nurses, pharmacists and others in health care sets this alert system apart from previous efforts,” Henri R. Manasse, Jr., ASHP Executive Vice President and CEO, said in the press release. “It is heartbreaking and frustrating to see the same mistakes happen again and again. This alert system is a significant and imperative step – creating more transparency and breaking the chronic cycle of medication errors.”
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