August 28, 2008
A study finds that the risk of drug injuries because of medication errors to patients of assisted living facilities is low, according to Yahoo! News.
The study observed 12 facilities in 3 states to determine the risk for drug injuries due to medication errors because staff members giving medication in assisted living facilities often are not licensed.
The study found a drug error rate of 28.2 percent, but of those errors 70.8 percent were time errors, meaning that a patient did not received medication within an hour of the scheduled time.
Excluding time errors from the study reduced the error rate to 8.2 percent.
Patients could be at risk for Texas drug injuries if they do not receive medications on time in correct dosages.