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NEWS: 30 Aug 02: Medicine Mix-Ups Kill 2,000 A Year

BigTrancer

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Mar 12, 2000
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From The Age:
Drug mix-ups kill 2,000 a year
MELBOURNE|Published: Friday August 30, 8:05 AM
Confusion with prescription drugs is responsible for the deaths of more than 2,000 Australians every year, more than motor vehicle accidents, according to a group which tracks medical errors.
The heavy medical toll was revealed by the Australian Patient Safety Foundation in a report in today's Herald Sun newspaper.
Foundation president, Professor Bill Runciman, said at least 2,000 people died every year from medication errors, although the true figure could be as high as 5,000 deaths.
Last year 1,750 Australians died in motor vehicle crashes.
His revelations come as Victoria's health watchdog found in a report that dangerously careless drug dispensing practices could be widespread across the state's hospitals...
Full article at: http://www.theage.com.au/breaking/2002/08/30/FFX5UGEZG5D.html
From The Herald-Sun:
Medicine mix-ups kill 2000 people
By NICK PAPPS
30aug02

MIX-UPS with medicines are killing more than 2000 Australians every year. Illegible prescriptions, poor drug packaging and mistakes with drugs cause more deaths each year than car crashes.
One of Australia's leading health experts said medication errors may be killing up to 5000 Australians every year.
A Herald Sun investigation has also revealed:
VICTORIA'S doctors deal with an estimated 100,000 adverse drug reactions and errors every year.
ONE Victorian pharmacist has been linked to two deaths after mixing up prescriptions.
THE state's health watchdog wants tighter drug controls and a computerised prescribing system for hospitals.
VICTORIAN hospitals will be required to detail medical errors in a national database.
Health Services Commissioner Beth Wilson said drug safety standards had dropped in Melbourne hospitals and they needed to reduce medication mistakes.
"They need to do much more," she said.
"I'm having a drop in standards reported to me. We need to act on it." ...
Full article at: http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5478,4998198%255E661,00.html
Might be looking down the barrel of a whole new system of pharmacy/prescription cross-checks?
BigTrancer :)
 
In the ACT's pharmacies (and I think NSW), they've implemented outlines for crosschecking prescriptions as well as reporting and recording anything like an error, adverse drug reaction or any other incident in which inappropriate medicine was given to a paitient (for example pseudo to someone with high bloodpressure). How many pharmacies actually use these, and whether they actually make a difference to patient care remains to be seen. They are a royal pain in the arse tho. A lot of the smaller dispensing errors happen due to misunderstanding of the software being used to process the script, as well as illegiblity of script and especially due to excessive pressures put on casual pharmacists in busy stores. That's just at the pharmacy end.
Doctors have been writing more scripts which are not what they intended to prescribe, most often caused by the fact that more and more doctors are using computer generated scripts, where they select the drug from pull down alphabetical list.
I guess overall that it's not surprising that so many ppl die from prescription medications, after all, they are poisons. ;)
 
babydoc: well to my knowledge "ecstasy" deaths, even by their loosest definition, have never been into double figures per year in this country. statistics are the slipperiest things to chase down, but from what i can see more people die each year in australia from bee stings than from MDMA.
 
quote from the herald sun
"In april 2000, the same pharmacist filled out a perscription for a mouthwash containing cocaine to kill pain for a woman after a tonsillectomy. Instead of having 1 per cent cocaine, the mouthwash had 10 per cent." "A 20 year old woman died after she drank the mouthwash at a party at the patient's house"
first of all, the person who died sounds as though they knew what they were taking. you dont just go and drink someones mouthwash cause you want fresh breath.
secondly, how do i get a tonsillectomy and where do i find a doctor who'll give me the wrong stuff via perscription? im guessing with a decent knowledge you could extract the 10% (or at least calculate a realistic dosage) and have a nice little bit of medical grade coke.
btw, im not serious. dont think im asking for sources or something.
 
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