Yale study: Medication errors, confusion common for hospital patients

New Haven Register  Published: Monday, December 03, 2012  By Lisa Chedekel, Conn. Health I-Team Writer  |  As a practitioner at Yale-New Haven Hospital, Dr. Leora Horwitz has seen her share of patients who misunderstand medication changes made during their hospital stays.
Just recently, one of her female patients, who was switched to a new beta blocker for high blood pressure during an inpatient stay, landed back in the hospital after discharge because she had taken both the new medication and her old beta blocker – a combination that lowered her heart rate and blood pressure to dangerous levels.   ….
The findings that three out of four patients are going home with the wrong prescriptions or a lack of knowledge about their medications come as hospitals grapple with high readmission rates, and as adverse drug reactions post-discharge are exceedingly common.  Read more