Prevent Medication Errors and Report Adverse Events

Primary Listings

Check Drug-Drug Interactions

Drug-drug interactions. Check your medications interactions with other prescription drugs you may be taking. Drugs may also interact with your over the counter (OTC) meds, dietary supplements and alcohol or certain foods. From drugs.com.

Consumers Can Report Medication Errors to ISMP

Consumers who have experienced a medication error, or potential error, can report it to the Institute for Safe Medication Practices (ISMP).  ISMP is a nonprofit organization educating the healthcare community and consumers about safe medication practices. Errors may have happened in a retail pharmacy, mail order pharmacy, hospital, doctor’s office, nursing home, or other setting. With your permission, ISMP will share information with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).  ISMP is a private nonprofit organization; FDA has regulatory authority. ConsumerMedSafety.org

Drug Interactions: What You Should Know

Here’s what you should know about drug interactions. Risks may increase the more drugs consumers take, or if they see more than one doctor. US Food and Drug Administration site explains the importance of drug interaction warnings. Examples are provided for consumers.

MedWatch – How to report serious adverse events to the FDA

MedWatch is FDA’s (Food and Drug Administration) site for consumers to report serious adverse reactions to medications, product quality and medical device problems

Other Helpful Listings

Adverse Drug Events (ADEs) in hospitals (2018 pdf)

Hospitals have worked hard to reduce adverse drug events (ADEs) over the past 10 years. Unfortunately such error rates have increased, in part because more prescription drugs are used. (Now 91% of people aged 65+ use prescription drugs, compared to 74% in the early 1990s.) HCUP data (2014) analyzed by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) revealed that ADEs are more likely to be present on admission (more than 2/3 of the ADEs, up 11% from 2011), than to originate during the stay (down 27%). As you might expect, however, in-hospital ADEs can be more costly, have longer length of stay and higher mortality. The most common ADEs involved antibiotics and anti-infectives, systemic agents such as antineoplastic drugs and antiallergy; hormones such as steroids and insulin; and analgesics such as opiates/narcotics. People age 65+ and those in the South had higher rates. AHRQ Statistical Brief #234 published January 2018.