UCSD study: First days of each month most deadly for medication errors
By: North County Times wire serivces | ∞
SAN DIEGO - In the first few days of each month, fatalities due to medication errors rise by up to 25 percent above normal, according to research data UC San Diego released Wednesday.
The study by sociologist David Phillips was published in this month's issue of Pharmacotherapy, the journal of the American College of Clinical Pharmacy.
The spike is likely due to increased pharmacy workloads, and a subsequent boost in errors, at the start of the month, Phillips said. "Government assistance payments to the old, the sick and the poor are typically received at the beginning of each month," Phillips said. "Because of this, there is a beginning-of-the-month spike in purchases of prescription medicines.
"Pharmacy workloads go up and, in line with both evidence and experience, error rates go up as well," he said. "Our data (suggest) that the mortality spike occurs at least partly because of this phenomenon."
Researchers examined death certificates filed nationwide from 1979 to 2000, and analyzed the 131,952 classified as fatal poisoning accidents from drugs.
They found that 96.8 percent of the deaths were from medication errors, meaning the wrong drug was given or taken, there was an accidental overdose or a drug was taken inadvertently.
The study excluded deaths from overdose of street drugs or from intentional poisoning, meaning suicide or homicide.
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