According to The National Coordinating Council for Medication Error Reporting and Prevention (2015), medication error is any preventable event that may cause or lead to inappropriate medication use or patient harm while the medication is in the control of the health care professional, patient, or consumer. Medication can be harmless but with mistakes in prescribing, dispensing and administering medications, it can cause injury to all population groups while impacting our public health. Errors can happen anytime or anywhere, including your home. Poor communication and medications that look or sound alike, are some of the most common cause of medication errors (Mayo Clinic, 2015).
Drug safety
Medication play an important role in the health of millions, yet many challenges prevent their great use. Drug Safety specializes in reviews on the epidemiology, clinical features, prevention and management of adverse effects of individual drugs and drug classes. Some adverse effects of medicines only come to light after medications have been on the market and widely used. Investigators are working to develop new methods for identifying risk, to …show more content…
The nonmedical use and abuse of prescription drugs is a serious public health issue and there’s an estimated 52 million people whom have used prescription drugs for nonmedical reasons at least once in their lifetime (NIH, 2014). Many questioned if prescription abuse is a crime problem or a health problem? I believe it’s both a crime and health issue because it is a crime to use drugs not prescribe for that intended use. This will eventually cause a public health issue because it will impact health cost, delay in health outcomes, compromise the safety of self and others, and increase the homeless and mental health