Drugs

Remember that scary Institute of Medicine report a few years back about the 98,000 fatal medical errors in hospitals each year? And the conclusion that it wasn't the fault of a few "bad apple" or incompetent doctors and nurses, but layers of unnecessary hazards built into the system? The problems range from confusing packaging to the "hurry up and rush" culture of hospitals. Today's Wall Street Journal has an interesting article on how hospitals are rethinking how they use the riskiest drugs--the eight medications which studies have shown account for nearly one-third of the drug errors that harm patients.