This Saturday is National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day. At sites across the region, you will be able to hand in unwanted, unused prescription drugs. During the last Drug Take-Back-Day, Americans dropped off more than 118 tons of unwanted and expired medications for safe disposal. The drop-off centers will be open from 10:00 a.m. to [...]
The Seattle Times series on methadone deaths highlights the drawbacks of drug treatment for pain and the need to explore alternative approaches, writes Bill Scott.
The Seattle Times has launched an investigative series on Washington state’s policy towards the use of the pain killer methadone for the treatment of chronic pain. The paper argues the drug is dangerously unpredictable and responsible for the deaths of hundreds, particularly among the poor.
Bad reactions to medications are on the rise:
Between 1997 and 2008, hospital admissions doubled among Americans aged 45 and older for medication and drug-related conditions.
These hospital admissions include the effects of prescription and over-the-counter medicines as well as illegal drugs.
Common problems: confusion, delirium and agitation; narcotic overdose; and symptoms of drug withdrawal from legal and illegal drug use.
After a series of fatal medication errors that took lives of two patients, more than 550 Seattle Children’s staff attended special review sessions Saturday to go over safety procedures.
In two cases, infants died after medications were given improperly.
An infant in intensive care at Seattle Children’s hospital has died after a nurse gave the child ten times the dose of the medication, calcium chloride.
Overdose involving prescription pain medicines has surpassed automobile crashes as the leading cause of injury death in the state for residents ages 35 to 54.
LocalHealthGuide is a health news and information web service for Seattle and the Puget Sound Region. We are independent and unaffiliated with any hospital, medical association or insurer. If you have questions or if your group has an upcoming event that you would like us to cover, please let us know by going to our "Contact Us" page and dropping us a note. -- Michael McCarthy, Editor
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