What Patients Don't Know Might Hurt Them

Hospital-based medication safety initiatives typically have concentrated on computer support systems and health provider education to prevent adverse drug events, dosage errors, and drug interactions. However, considerably less attention has been paid to the role of the patient — the last bastion of defense in safeguarding against medication errors.

In this cross-sectional study, conducted at the University of Colorado, investigators asked 50 hospitalized adult patients (mean age, 54; 50% of approached patients agreed to participate) to list their outpatient and inpatient medications (scheduled and as-needed) and to report their self-perceived knowledge of inpatient medications and their desire to participate in medication safety. Patients w…