Thursday, July 20, 2006
Imagine if Drugs were an Epidemic....1.5 million a year!
If you could get sick taking drugs, how you would treat the problem? Well, it IS a problem, according to the latest report from the Institute of Medicine, which finds that 1.5 million "medication errors" occur each year at a cost of $3.5 BILLION (with a "b").
According to Forbes magazine, that's one patient per day in every U.S. hospital who's somehow injured by a drug. (The medical community calls them "side effects" but at this rate, I call them what they are: "effects," and they're primary ones.
The bottom line for YOU? Know what you're taking. Read the labels. Read all the fine-print material that comes with your drugs. Politely DECLINE your doctor's recommendation if you think a drug might be too risky, or if you're already taking a lot of other drug and don't want to keep adding to the pile. Take CHARGE of your health, because if all you do is pop pills, you don't know how those pills are reacting and interacting inside your body. Ask lots of questions. Talk to your pharmacist.
According to Forbes magazine, that's one patient per day in every U.S. hospital who's somehow injured by a drug. (The medical community calls them "side effects" but at this rate, I call them what they are: "effects," and they're primary ones.
The bottom line for YOU? Know what you're taking. Read the labels. Read all the fine-print material that comes with your drugs. Politely DECLINE your doctor's recommendation if you think a drug might be too risky, or if you're already taking a lot of other drug and don't want to keep adding to the pile. Take CHARGE of your health, because if all you do is pop pills, you don't know how those pills are reacting and interacting inside your body. Ask lots of questions. Talk to your pharmacist.
