Medication errors: a 21st-century perspective

Robert K. Rosen, MD

Over the past several years, increased attention has been given to the risks associated with medication use, especially within hospitals. The Institute of Medicine 's 2000 report, To Err is Human (1), continues to stir an avalanche of interest from the government and the private and public sectors. This increasing scrutiny has emerged as regulators, payers, and patients have demanded not just incremental improvement in safety but giant steps toward medical perfection. The Leapfrog Group, a coalition of more than 150 public and private organizations that provide health care benefits, was created "to reduce preventable medical mistakes by mobilizing employer purchasing power to initiate breakthrough improvements in the safety of health care and by giving consumers information to make more informed hospital choices" (2). This article addresses what has been accomplished, where we may be headed, and what is left undone.

Invited commentary D. Kennerly PDF