FDA Fixing Drug Dosing Problems November 8
Aproximately 1.5 million serious health issues and deaths each year could have been prevented if dosing errors and misuse of drugs hadn’t occurred. In an attempt to reduce the incidents the FDA us now gathering information about the most serious threats and trying to find ways to prevent them from happening.
The plan, called Safe Use Initiative, would require no new spending or ideas to take action. Actions the plan takes will center on the advice of doctors and other healthcare professionals about which drugs need new focus. This advice will be tempered by public hearings to gather information.
Misuse of acetaminophen has already earned the focus of the group due to concerns about liver damage when taken in excessive amounts. Use of the drug can be hard for consumers to manage as its in many over the counter medications in addition to Tylenol.
While frequently misused drugs are the central focus the FDA will also scrutinize drug information provided to patents in labels, package inserts and pharmacy instructions. An action many fee; is long overdue. 99.5% of pamphlets go without regulation and often fail to have all of the critical information. The FDA also plans to ask for changes in liquid medication that could require cups and spoons that are specifically calibrated to match the dosage requirements for that medication.
One of the largest challenges is determi9ning hard figures on exactly how many people die or suffer serious injury as a result of medication abuse. “Preventable harm” covers a wide range of activities including accidental overdosing. Medication abuse, drug quality defects, dispensation of the wrong medications or the wring dose. These errors don’t include common side effects however.
Tags: drug dosing, drugs, FDA, medication, misuse