Publication Date: May 24th, 2017
Publication Type(s): Policy Brief
Topic(s): Critical Access Hospitals, Hospitals and Clinics, Pharmacy and Prescription Drugs, Quality
Author(s): Casey M, Distel E, Prasad S, Hung P
Adverse drug events (ADEs) are defined as events involving patient injury resulting from medication use; some ADEs are side effects that may occur even when a medication is taken correctly, while others are medication errors that occur when a medication is incorrectly prescribed or administered. ADEs result in significant patient morbidity, increase lengths of stay in the hospital, and are costly.
This policy brief describes resources that could be used to decrease ADEs in rural hospitals. A companion policy brief, “Identifying Adverse Drug Events in Rural Hospitals,” found that ADE rates for the most common categories of medications involved in ADEs that occur during inpatient hospitalizations varied across CAHs, rural PPS, and urban PPS hospitals.