Medication errors

A nice brief piece from NPR's Day to Day today, discussing outpatient medication errors--touches particularly on patient education and doctor/patient communication as key to addressing the issue.

Painkillers, sleeping pills and anti-anxiety drugs are being prescribed to out-patients in high doses, without the oversight of a doctor. A new study found that in the last 20 years there has been a 500 percent increase in the death rate from medication errors made at home. Medical contributor Dr. Sydney Spiesel discusses the data with Alex Chadwick.