Pharmacy Error Statistics
- Each year in the United States, nearly 4 billion prescriptions are filled and that number is expected to increase.
- There are only about 240,000 pharmacists nationwide and that number is expected to decrease.
- Medication errors account for approximately 7000 deaths annually in hospitals alone and tens of thousands more in outpatient facilities.
- It is estimated that between 2.2 million and 3.7 million medication dispensing errors have occurred in the U.S. in each of the past eight years which caused serious health problems or death.
- According to the FDA, over 1.3 million people are injured each year due to medication mistakes.
- Preventable adverse drug events (ADEs) cost the healthcare system $2 billion every year.
