Medication Errors Injure 1.5 Million Americans a Year!

At the end of every Traditional Naturopath Podcast I say, “Remember that YOU are the person most responsible for YOUR health!” This article illustrates a good reason to take on that responsibility! If someone (ANYONE) tries to get you to take a drug, YOU need to demand to know what it is, what it does, and what the side effects and interactions may be! As a Naturopath I try (personally) very diligently to stay completely away from drugs in any form, preferring a more natural approach… however, in the cases where I have HAD to use a drug, I always ask all the “hard questions” until I understand the implications of using it!

Forbes Article: Medication Errors Injure 1.5 Million Americans a Year

“Medication errors injure at least 1.5 million Americans annually, costing the nation more than $3.5 billion a year, according to a new government report released Thursday. In hospitals alone, the sobering statistics translate into an average of one medication error per patient per day, the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies report found. And those costly totals don’t even begin to include lost wages and productivity. ‘Errors in medication happen all too frequently, but they are not unavoidable,’ Dr. Harvey Fineberg, president of the Institute of Medicine, said at a news conference Thursday. ‘There’s much that can be done and, indeed, should be done to reduce the frequency and mitigate the harm that may come from medication errors.'”

It goes on to say, “The report suggests that patients could do much to protect themselves. ‘We tell the public to take an active role in their own health care, and ask about the risks and benefits of each medication,’ said Dr. Wilson Pace, another member of the report committee and a professor of family medicine at the University of Colorado, in Aurora. The report provides a list of questions to ask health-care providers.”