More than 200 million medication errors occur in NHS per year, say researchers

More than 200 million medication errors occur in NHS per year, say researchers A new study has revealed an estimated 237 million medication errors occur in the NHS in England every year, and avoidable adverse drug reactions (ADRs) cause hundreds of deaths.

Researchers from the Universities of Sheffield, York and Manchester report that an estimated 712 per year deaths result from avoidable ADRs.

However, researchers say that ADRs could be a contributory factor to between 1,700 and 22,303 deaths a year.

Of the total estimated 237 million medication errors that occur, researchers found that almost three in four are unlikely to result in harm to patients, but there is very little information on the harm that actually happens due to medication errors. University of Sheffield

See also:

• Prevalence and economic burden of medicationerrors in the NHS in England Policy Research Unit in Economic Evaluation of Health and Care Interventions
• College welcomes patient safety measures on prescribing Royal College of General Practitioners
• Drug errors cause appalling harm and deaths, says Hunt BBC News
• Up to 22,000 deaths a year caused by medication mistakes The Daily Mail
• NHS drug errors may be causing up to 22,000 deaths every year The Daily Telegraph
• Jeremy Hunt pledges crackdown on drug errors in NHS The Guardian
• NHS medication errors contribute to as many as 22,000 deaths a year, major report shows The Independent