Understanding how drugs work helps keep patients safe in many ways:
Knowing Side Effects: When we understand how drugs work, we can better guess what side effects might happen. It's important to know that about 30% of people end up in the hospital because of bad reactions to medicines.
Avoiding Drug Interactions: By knowing how different drugs affect each other, doctors and nurses can prevent problems. Around 15% of hospitalized patients have serious issues because two or more drugs didn’t mix well together.
Getting the Right Dose: Knowing how the body handles drugs helps doctors give the right amount. Each year in the U.S., wrong dosing causes 1.5 million cases where patients could have been helped but weren’t.
Teaching Patients: When patients know more about their treatment, they are more likely to follow it correctly. This can improve their health outcomes by as much as 50%.
By understanding how drugs work, healthcare providers can make a big difference in keeping patients safe.
Understanding how drugs work helps keep patients safe in many ways:
Knowing Side Effects: When we understand how drugs work, we can better guess what side effects might happen. It's important to know that about 30% of people end up in the hospital because of bad reactions to medicines.
Avoiding Drug Interactions: By knowing how different drugs affect each other, doctors and nurses can prevent problems. Around 15% of hospitalized patients have serious issues because two or more drugs didn’t mix well together.
Getting the Right Dose: Knowing how the body handles drugs helps doctors give the right amount. Each year in the U.S., wrong dosing causes 1.5 million cases where patients could have been helped but weren’t.
Teaching Patients: When patients know more about their treatment, they are more likely to follow it correctly. This can improve their health outcomes by as much as 50%.
By understanding how drugs work, healthcare providers can make a big difference in keeping patients safe.