According to a recent article in Pharmacy Practice News that our Washington D.C. pharmacy error injury attorneys have been following, a group of children’s hospitals in Ohio have prevented around 3,600 adverse drug events and surgical site infections, along with saving over $5 million, during an 18-month program initiative that was launched in 2009.
The initiative, called “Solutions for Patient Safety,” was reportedly launched with support of the Cardinal Health Foundation, who gave 1.5 million, along with the shared motivation of children’s hospitals in an effort to work together to eliminate preventable injury or harm to children.
Before the initiative began, each children’s hospital in the state reportedly collected data on adverse drug events in a different way—making it very difficult to compare or share information within hospitals. After conducting audits of a random collection of charts, the group was able to come together and manually identify and review the root cause of adverse events, and pinpoint a set of common concerns.
The initiative found that the main collective medication error problem was constipation from opioids, as well as over sedation as a result of the narcotics. Although constipation is not a life-threatening adverse drug event, it can reportedly add to more time in the hospital, more lab work, and tests, which can all add to additional costs.