What are High Risk Medications?

Dan Frith

Contributor

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By now most Americans have read something about the medication errors which almost cost actor Dennis Quaid and his wife the ultimate loss....the death of their twins due to a medication error (heparin overdose) at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, California.

Medication errors happen daily - it is part of the "grab and go" culture in busy hospitals. What can be done to reduce this potential lethal problem?

Hospitals are retraining their nurses and pharmacy technologists to make them more aware of the problems. They are instituting new policies which require two nurses to okay the administration of certain dangerous drugs. Hospitals are also creating a "High Risk Drug List" which require increased attention and care when these medications are ordered, dispensed, and administered. The drugs on the High Risk list include heparin (maintains blood flow), insulin(controls blood sugar), opiates (acute and chronic pain control), and methotrexate(for rheumatoid arthritis and other conditions).

The Institute for Healthcare Improvement has created a guide for hospitals on how to prevent harm from these high risk or high alert medications. The Institute for Safe Medication Practices maintains an updated list of high alert medications and says that safety efforts are largely voluntary and that too few hospitals have invested in technologies like bar coding that could greatly reduce medication errors.

The bottom line: If you have a loved one in the hospital...be ever watchful for medication errors.