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E-Prescribing First Step to Improved Safety
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Change doesn't come without pain, but the suffering caused by medication errors is justification enough to embark on the type of sweeping institutional reforms called for by an Institute of Medicine panel, several experts said.
Electronic prescribing, electronic health records, and computerized treatment protocols are indispensable tools for reducing medication errors, according to the IOM report called Preventing Medication Errors. But successfully incorporating these tools into practice requires strong leadership and a commitment to an often difficult culture change, said physicians and cancer professionals who have been through the process.
The landmark report found that there is one avoidable medication error per hospitalized patient per day; more than half a million errors occur each year among Medicare patients alone. The report cites some noteworthy progress in patient safety, but it concludes that too often these efforts don't come about until an institution experiences a mistake that causes patient harm or
Dana-Farber Fix
An Electronic Age
Computers Not the Full Answer