Half of Heart Patients Make Medication Errors

Half of Heart Patients Make Medication Errors

Half of Heart Patients Make Medication Errors

July 2, 2012 -- After leaving the hospital, many heart patients often make medication errors, even if they have extra help from pharmacists, according to new research.

Although previous studies have found that about 20% of patients have some problem with their prescription medicine after discharge, the new study found errors more widespread.

"We found that approximately 50% of patients had either a potentially avoidable adverse drug event or some other problem with their medicine that had the potential to cause harm if left uncorrected," says researcher Sunil Kripalani, MD, associate professor of medicine at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine in Nashville.

Most errors were mild, he tells WebMD. Some were life-threatening, but no deaths were linked to the medication errors in the study.

The errors occurred even in patients who got extra counseling from a pharmacist, Kripalani says. However, certain people, such as those with mental problems, did benefit from having that extra help, Kripalani tells WebMD.

The study is published in the Annals of Internal Medicine.

Medication errors harm at least 1.5 million people a year in the U.S., according to the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies.

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Medication Errors: Study Details

The researchers looked at how extra help from pharmacists might help reduce medication errors.

The 851 patients studied had been hospitalized with heart problems such as heart failure or heart attack. They were on average about 60 years old.

They were discharged from Vanderbilt University Hospital or Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston.

The researchers assigned about half of the patients to get extra pharmacist help. They compared them to the other half, who got standard care.

In the extra-help group, pharmacists:

• Counseled patients in one or two sessions about how to reduce medication errors
• Evaluated how well the patient understood the medication instructions
• Asked about the patient's social support
• Provided pill boxes and illustrated medication schedules
• Called the patients one to four days after discharge to ask about any medication issues

Patients in the comparison group got information about medication from their doctor and hospital nurses when they were discharged.

The researchers tracked medication errors for a month after discharge.

Medication Errors: Study Results

Of the 851 patients, 432, or just over 50%, had one or more medication errors in the month after hospital discharge.

In the usual-care group, 407 ''clinically important'' medication errors were found, compared to 370 in the group that received additional counseling.

Of these, seven in each group were life threatening, although none proved fatal.

Most often involved in errors were:

• Heart disease drugs
• Diuretics
• Opioids for pain
• Cholesterol drugs
• Herbs, vitamins, supplements
• Diabetes drugs
• Anti-clotting drugs

Some errors could have been avoided, the researchers say, by closer monitoring by doctors or pharmacists.

Common medication errors included:

• Missed or incorrect doses
• Stopping a medicine before instructed
• Not filling a prescription
• Taking a medicine less or more often than prescribed