Changing the medication culture

A recent report has highlighted the strikingly high incidences of medication errors in the NHS; researchers from the Universities of York, Manchester and Sheffield report that an estimated 712 deaths result from avoidable adverse drug reactions (ADR) every year. ADRs could, however, be a contributory factor to up to 22,303 deaths a year, they report.1 

In addition to the loss of human lives, the cost to the health system is enormous and estimated to amount to around £1.6 billion per annum; this is a staggeringly high amount of which leading commentators and the Government have taken notice, with Health and Social Care Secretary Jeremy Hunt recently declaring that new patient safety measures will be put in place.2 

Although automation and e-prescribing are certainly ways to help reduce the incidence of this type of error, Mr Hunt also calls out the ‘teamwork and communication’ involved in getting it right, an important combination that many would argue is critical to ensuring patient safety across the board.3