Medical errors are the third leading cause of death in the United States. Close to one-third of adults in the country take 5 or more medications. An adverse drug event (ADE) is the harm that the patient experiences as a result of exposure to a medication.
A recent study out of the University of California San Francisco, published in the prestigious medical journal Pediatrics, finds that a drug commonly used to treat anemia may also be useful for treatment in babies that suffer from certain birth injuries. The study points to two specific benefits:
New York residents sometimes perform online searches before choosing a physician, but the results provided by search engines like Google and Yahoo do not always tell the whole story. The medical community is rarely eager to share the details of malpractice lawsuits, and a desire to contain this kind of information leads to many such lawsuits being settled with the plaintiffs signing nondisclosure agreements.
In an effort to meet the goals outlined in the 2007 Prescription Drug User Fee Act, the Food and Drug Administration has released two guidance documents focused on reducing medication errors. According to the Institute of Medicine, around 7,000 people die each year in the U.S. due to medication-related issues, so reducing them is a priority.
The third leading cause of death in the United States is stroke, killing more than 140,000 people each year. Approximately 795,000 people suffer a stroke each year. Of these, roughly 600,000 are first attacks, while about 185,000 are recurrent attacks.
