Statistics

Medication Error Rates

• Medical errors account for between 44,000 to 98,000 deaths in the United States each year.(1)
• Medical errors are the eighth leading cause of death in the United States, occur at a rate greater than motor vehicle accidents, breast cancer, or AIDS.(1)
• Over 770,000 patients are injured because of medication errors every year.(2)
• Medication errors account for at least 7,000 deaths in the United States each year.
• Medication errors occur in nearly 1 of every 5 doses given to patients in the typical hospital.(3)
• Reported rates of adverse drug events (ADEs) range from 2.4 to 6.1 ADEs per 100 admissions or discharges, or 9.1 to 19 ADEs per 1000 patient days.(4-12)

Medication Administration Errors

• Administration errors account for 38% of medication errors.(13)
• Only 2% of drug administration errors are intercepted.(13)
• The errors made during administration often result in an adverse drug event (ADE), while errors made earlier in the medication use process are less likely to reach the patient undetected.
• Safety at the point of care is one of the greatest areas for potential improvement in the medication use process.

Medication Error Costs

• The cost of medication errors is $4,685 (1993 dollars) per preventable ADE.(14)
• Annual cost of medication errors is approximately $2.8 million for a 700-bed teaching hospital. (14)
• These figures include costs related to extended patient stays, but exclude the costs of injuries to patients, malpractice costs, and added length of patient stays due to ADEs.(14)
• The median compensation award for medication errors was $668,000 per award in 2000.(15)
• It is estimated that the annual national costs of preventable adverse drug events is $2 billion.(14)

Intravenous (IV) Medication Errors - Posing the Greatest Risk of Harm

• 54% of potential ADE's are associated with IV medications.(11)
• In studies, it was found that adverse drug events occurred between 2.9 to 3.7 percent of hospitalizations.(12-14)
• 61% of the serious and life-threatening errors are associated with IV medications. (Communication with D.W. Bates, October 2001)
• 56% of medication errors are associated with IV medications.(15)

1. Kohn, LT, JM Corrigan and MS Donaldson, ed. To Err is Human: Building a Safer Health System. Washington, DC: National Academy Press; 1999.
2. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) website: http://www.fda.org
3. Barker KN, Flynn EA, Pepper GA, PhD, Bates DW, Mikeal RL. Medication errors observed in 36 health care facilities. Arch Intern Med 2002;162:1897-1903.
4. Bates DW, Cullen DJ, Laird N, et al. Incidence of adverse drug events and potential adverse drug events. Implications for prevention. ADE prevention study group. JAMA 1995 274:29-34.
5. Bates DW, Boyle DL, Vander Vliet MB, Schneider J, Leape L. Relationship between medication errors and adverse drug events. J Gen Intern Med 1995;10:199-205.
6. Brennan TA, Leape LL, Laird, NM, et al. Incidence of adverse events and negligence in hospitalized patients: Results of the Harvard Medical practice Study I.
7. Cullen DJ, Sweitzer BJ, Bates, DW, et al.. Preventable adverse drug events in hospitalized patients: A comparative study of intensive care and general units. Crit Care Med 1997; 25:1289-1297.
8. Thomas EJ, Stuodert DM, Burstin HR, et al. Incidence and types of adverse events and negligent care in Utah and Colorado. Med Care 2000; 38:261-271.
9. Classen DC, Pestonik SL, Evans RS, Lloyd JF, Burke JP. Adverse drug events in hospitalized patients. JAMA 1997; 277:301-306.
10. Lazarou J, Pomeranz BH, Corey PN. Incidence of adverse drug reaction in hospitalized patients. JAMA 1998; 279:1200-1205.
11. Kaushal R, Bates DW, Landrigan C, et al. Medication errors and adverse drug events in pediatric inpatients. JAMA 2001; 285:2114-2120.
12. Thomas EJ, Brennan TA. Incidence and types of preventable adverse events in elderly patients: population based review of medical records. BMF 2000; 320:741-744.
13. Leape LL, Bates DW, Cullen DJ et al. Systems analysis of adverse drug events. JAMA 1995; 274:35-43.
14. Bates DW, Spell N, Cullen DJ, et al. The costs of adverse drug events in hospitalized patients. JAMA. 1997; 277:307-311.
15. Medical malpractice verdicts, settlement and statistical analysis, Jury Verdict Research. Referenced by: Albert, T. Liability insurance crisis: Bigger awards just one factor. April 15, 2002. Available at: http://www.ama-assn.org