Medication Errors: The Role of Societal Attributes

Depending on the statistics examined, medication errors may be responsible for the deaths of 44000 to 400000 in hospitals. This chapter examined the role of societal roles in medication errors. Several studies have been conducted on medication errors but there is no uniformity in the definition which makes evaluation of medication error difficult. Despite the non-uniformity of definitions, all the research articles reviewed agreed that enhanced oral and written communication between the health care providers and patients or parents of patients was a step towards the prevention of medication errors. Health literacy of both health care providers and the consumers play a contributory role to medication errors.