Will New FDA Program Prevent Errors in Medication Use?
Today the FDA announced a new program aimed at reducing the amount of needless injury do to miss use of prescription medication.
Dr. Margaret A. Hamburg, the agency’s commissioner said,
Too many people suffer unnecessary injuries from avoidable medication misuse, errors and other problems. The FDA is launching the Safe Use Initiative to develop targeted solutions for reducing these injuries.
The new initiative will also aim to remedy the dosage problems with over the counter medications and their deliver devices, such as droppers, spoons or cups found packaged with drugs like liquid Tylenol and Benadryl.
According to CNN, over 4 million cases of miss use a year result in a trip to the emergency room or the doctor, with over 100,000 having to ultimately be hospitalized. The FDA said that over half could have been prevented.
Hopefully these new guide lines will help, but I have my doubts. Many of the problems with dosing aren’t with the instructions or the delivery device, but are human error. It is good that they are simplifying the instructions as much as possible, but I fear we won’t see much of a downturn in overdosing.
What do you think?
