It’s called simply the “July Effect.” Medical care professionals and Arizona medical practice lawyers have known for decades that the incidences of medication errors in hospitals tend to increase during the month of July. There's always been an explanation for this too. July is when many medical residents begin their residencies. These inexperienced residents are more prone to make medication errors. This fact has now been confirmed by a study conducted by researchers at the University of California, San Diego.

The researchers looked at more than 244,000 death certificates between 1979 and 2006 in which medication errors were the primary cause of death. They noticed a spike in deaths due to medication errors in the month of July. While errors during the other months remained more or less constant, medication errors during July spiked by up 10%. There was no corresponding spike in other causes of death in July, or in deaths outside of hospitals during this month. These medication errors included accidental overdoses, administering the wrong dose of medicine, and errors in the use of the drug during medical and surgical procedures.

The researchers have published the results of their study in the Journal of General Internal Medicine. They are calling for a greater evaluation of the responsibilities that medical residents are given when they begin their residencies. They're also calling for other ways to decrease the rates of medication errors, including increasing education for new medical residents about medication safety, and better supervision of medical residents.

If you can't avoid visiting a hospital in the month of July, Arizona medical malpractice attorneys would encourage you to take a friend or relative along to act as an advocate for you. This person should be responsible for making sure that medications that are administered to you, are administered correctly. If you're able to, make sure that you are taking the correct dosage and correct medication by reading the labels.