Specifically, the researchers’ study revealed that of all medication-associated adverse events reported by the FDA since 1969, 55 percent were reported in just the last 10 years. However, lead researcher Sheila Weiss Smith, PhD, said the report does not demonstrate an actual number of adverse reports linked to medications. Rather, the report shows a need for better quality reporting.
For example, researchers found one-third of reported adverse events did not document the patient’s age. “Without ages, you have to throw out those reports,” Ms. Weiss Smith said. “One of the reasons we did the study is that the reporters should improve the quality of their reports.”
Ms. Weiss Smith also said there are a wide variety of reasons why the number of adverse reports may have surged in recent years. Most notably, safety warnings have made up a large majority of adverse event reports, an aging population is taking more medications and more patients are taking multiple drugs for longer time periods, which can lead to adverse drug interactions, according to the news report.
Read the news report about the study on FDA adverse drug events.
Read other coverage about medication safety:
– South Dakota Hospitals Search for Ways to Weather Drug Shortage
– Study Suggest Providers Overuse Last-Resort Antibiotics
– Tennessee Hospitals Rely on Borrowing, Other Measures to Address Drug Shortages
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