Drug Errors & Over-Utilization - The Role of IROs

Drug errors inside hospitals and drug over-utilization are both critical issues that need to be dealt with in order to improve patient safety and reduce health care costs. The article below provides a snapshot of one aspect of this problem. As an IRO, we help hospitals, PBMs and health plans eliminate these problems, by providing independent medical reviews and hospital peer reviews that help them better manage drug delivery and costs. In the hospital environment, erroneous prescriptions can be reduced if practitioners know that their work is subject to regular outside review. For health insurance payers, drug utilization review is rapidly becoming a hot topic, since pharmacy benefits account for a large percentage of the increase in costs. IROs help bring accountability, transparency, objectivity and cost containment into the picture, which makes the system work better for everyone. --AGR

1 in 10 patients gets drug error
Study examines six community hospitals in Mass.
By Patricia Wen
Globe Staff
February 14, 2008
One in every 10 patients admitted to six Massachusetts community hospitals suffered serious and avoidable medication mistakes, according to a report being released today by two nonprofit groups that are urging all hospitals in the state to install a computerized prescription ordering system. Read the rest of the article at: http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2008/02/14/1_in_10_patients_gets_drug_error/