A combination of factors, including lack of coordination and knowledge about side effects are responsible for the majority of adverse drug reactions that take place in hospitals every year. In fact, according to a new survey by Swedish researchers, not only are most of these adverse drug reactions entirely preventable, but many of them are life-threatening.

 The results of the study were recently presented at the International Pharmaceutical Federation’s annual conference. Researchers found that adult patients had a 2% chance of adverse event risks for medications, and of these adverse reactions, 51% were preventable. However, when it comes to older patients, more than 70% of adverse events were preventable.

According to the researchers, their findings showed that most adverse drug reactions in hospitals are caused due to lack of coordination between healthcare professionals. Medication errors are some of the most frequent kinds of errors that occur during shift changes, or when more than one medical professional is involved in a case. Additionally, patients can be unaware of the side effects or risks from the use of certain medications. Pharmaceutical companies may not always highlight certain side effects that need to be watched out for carefully. All of these factors increase the risk of adverse drug reactions.

Arizona medical malpractice lawyers also believe that part of the reason for these adverse drug events is the fact that many of them are so common that they can easily be concealed in a hospital environment. Researchers say it is important to create a hospital climate in which such errors are not hidden, or taken for granted. Additionally, the researchers believe that medical professionals need to be encouraged to report adverse drug events to prevent similar incidents in the future.