Hospital Patients Unsure What Drugs Used, Many Doses Contain Errors, Study Says

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http://snipurl.com/tn1p0 [Eyewitness News]Hospital Patients Unsure What Drugs UsedMany Doses Contain Errors, Study SaysPOSTED: 8:39 am EST December 10, 2009A study found that most hospital patients don't really know what drugs they were given during their stay.The report in the Journal of Hospital Medicine found that 44 percent thought they were taking something they were not. Also, 96 percent did not know the name of at least one of the drugs they used, according to a news release on the work from the University of Colorado Denver School of Medicine.The authors also said that some reviews have found 20 percent of medication doses given in hospitals were wrong."Our findings are particularly striking in that we found significant deficits in patient understanding of their hospital medications even among patients who believed they knew, or desired to know, what is being prescribed to them in the hospital," said Dr. Ethan Cumbler.The study involved 50 participants who said they knew their outpatient medications, spoke English, and were from the community around the University of Colorado Hospital.Patients younger than 65 were unable to name 60 percent of medications which they could take as needed, whereas patients older than 65 were unable to name 88 percent of these medications.For scheduled medications, which need to be taken at specific times, there was no difference."Our study suggests that adult medicine inpatients believe learning about their hospital medications would increase their satisfaction and has potential to promote medication safety," said Cumbler. =====In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes.