Drug-Related Morbidity and Mortality

BACKGROUND: Preventable drug-related morbidity and mortality represent a serious medical problem that urgently requires expert attention. The costs to society of the misuse of prescription medications, in terms of morbidity, mortality, and treatment, can be immense. To date, research has primarily documented increased rates of hospitalization secondary to medication noncompliance and/or adverse drug effects. OBJECTIVES: To develop a conceptual model of drug-related morbidity and mortality, and to estimate the associated costs in the ambulatory setting in the United States. METHODS: A probability pathway model was developed to estimate the cost of drug-related morbidity and mortality in the United States. Pharmacist practitioners were surveyed to determine conditional probabilities of therapeutic outcomes owing to drug therapy. Health care use and associated costs owing to negative therapeutic outcomes were estimated. RESULTS: Drug-related morbidity and mortality was estimated to cost $76.6 billion in the ...