Did You Know?
- Nearly one-third of adults in the U.S. take five or more different medications each day.
- Certain medications can cause serious harm if not administered properly.
- An estimated 450,000 preventable, adverse medication-related events occur in the U.S. every year.
- The most-common problem is new medications are prescribed, but the old ones are not stopped, causing potential toxic side effects.
- Some over the counter (non-prescription) medications and supplements can cause serious side-effects when taken with some prescribed medications.
- Waiting to report a problem with your medication may be too late. Call your doctor’s office before the medication problem becomes an emergency.
Learn more about storing and taking medication, increasing medication safety and reducing medication errors in this latest Caregiver Alert by the Washington State Developmental Disabilities Administration (DDA).