ZT:

Every year, more than 1.5 million Americans are harmed by medication errors -- preventable mistakes that cost the country well in excess of $3.5 billion to treat, according to a sobering report put out this summer by the Institute of Medicine, a prestigious group of scientists who advise the government

``Nothing that patients can do by themselves will make them truly safe," said Dr. Albert Wu , a professor at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore and a co-author of the report, ``but they can start doing things that can make them safer."

The most important -- to keep doctors from prescribing inappropriate drugs -- is to make a list of all your medications, including vitamins, herbal remedies, and dietary supplements, keep it up-to-date, and take it with you every time you go to the doctor's office or the hospital. Many people see multiple doctors, and it's often only the patient or a family member who knows about all the drugs.

http://www8.nationalacademies.org/onpinews/newsitem.aspx?RecordID=11623