DRUG ERRORS GO UNDER THE MICROSCOPE

Purdue University is investigating medication errors and providing recommendations for preventing them. Backed by a $25-million grant from Lilly Endowment Inc, the newly formed special team of researchers will establish a program that will reduce medication errors and enable pharmacists, physicians, and nurses to hone their skills by improving drug distribution and administration systems.

The university plans to develop community-based models to better use pharmacists to help with early detection and management of adverse drug events. As a model, the medication-error response team will use Purdue's Technical Assistance Program, which connects Indiana companies with Purdue resources, to create a pharmaceutical technical assistance program. The researchers also will develop systems, much like those currently found in industry, to reduce drug errors.