Read the Prescription Label

Book excerpt: In 1999, the Institute of Medicine published its landmark report, To Err Is Human: Building a Safer Health System, in which it stated that nearly 98,000 people die needlessly every year due to preventable medical mistakes. In 2009, the Consumers Union published a report, To Err Is HumanTo Delay Is Deadly, stating that we are no better off today than we were ten years ago and that a million lives have been lost and billions of dollars wasted due to medical mistakes. Enter Dr. Mary Sue McAslan, pharmacist and medication safety expert. With over thirty years experience, she provides clever, easy-to-follow safety tips for the average healthcare consumer. These simple tips will prevent serious medication errors from happening at the hospital, the doctors office, the pharmacy, and at home.