New Software Designed to Reduce Medication Errors in Nursing Homes
PRESS RELEASE
Drugs.com Unveils the Next Generation Medication Safety Tool to Help Consumers Avoid Dangerous Drug Interactions
Last update: 2:48 p.m. EST Nov. 24, 2008
NEW YORK, Nov 24, 2008 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ — Award-winning MedNotes offers personalized medication profiles, drug interaction and warning alerts via Drugs.com and Google Health Drugs.com, the leading online resource for information about prescription medication and related health issues, today announced the launch of a new online tool that will revolutionize the way consumers can monitor and manage their own medications, to ultimately help reduce dangerous side effects and avoid unwanted drug interactions. MedNotes, a free, online personal medication record system, allows consumers to create individual medication lists for themselves and family members and receive relevant and breaking news, alerts and warnings about their medications and health conditions. MedNotes can also be used to create printable personal health and medication records. Accessible directly at www.drugs.com/mednotes, MedNotes is linked into Google Health’s online health records system as a personalized drug safety
The e-Healthcare Leadership Awards were presented on November 11th at the Twelfth Annual Healthcare Internet Conference, where more than 1,100 health Web Sites were judged for the Awards.
New Services for Seniors, Healthcare Professionals
In addition to MedNotes, Drugs.com recently introduced two online medication information tools specifically for seniors and healthcare professionals.
For seniors enrolling in Medicare Part D, Drugs.com has launched the Medicare Part D Guide and Plan Selector Tool to help seniors make the most of this federal government program by choosing the most cost-effective program for their personal medication needs. Medicare Part D is a federal government program designed by Medicare to help eligible citizens pay for prescription drugs. The Drugs.com Plan D Guide and Comparison tool (Powered by MedicareSaver) allows seniors and caregivers to simply enter a ZIP code and list of medications to compare and select the most suitable and cost effective plan from a comprehensive range of providers. Plan details are displayed graphically to help users easily understand the monthly premiums, deductibles, co-pay fees and when the “donut hole” comes into effect. The Guide and Tool will be available on the Drugs.com Web site for the duration of the Medicare Part D enrollment period from November 15 - December 31 ( www.drugs.com/medicare-part-d).
Fast Facts: Medication Use and Errors in U.S.
— Almost two-thirds of Americans currently use medicines: 49 percent use
prescription drugs, and 30 percent use nonprescription medications
(American Heart Association)
— 32 million Americans are taking three or more medications daily
(American Heart Association)
— 1.5 million Americans are injured by medication errors annually, reports
the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies
— The FDA received reports of nearly 21,000 serious problems, including
deaths, associated with medications in the first three months of 2008,
according to an analysis conducted by the Institute for Safe Medication
Practices
— Fatal medication errors occurring in the home increased dramatically by
360.5 percent from 1983 (1,132 deaths) to 2004 (12,426 deaths) according
to a study published in Archives of Internal Medicine (July 2008)
— The No.1 problem in treating illness today is patients’ failure to
take prescription medications correctly, regardless of patient age
(American Heart Association)
— 10 percent of all hospital admissions and 23 percent of all nursing
home admissions are due to patients failing to take prescription
medications correctly
— At any given time, regardless of age group, up to 59 percent of
those on five or more medications are taking them improperly.
Click here for more information regarding Mednotes and Drug.com
If you or a loved one has suffered an injury or abuse in a nursing home or other care facility that serves the elderly in
