Word: patients
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...plans for the U.K. Stem Cell Bank in Hertfordshire - the world's first for storing and supplying tissue from human embryos and aborted fetuses to be used to repair diseased and damaged parts of the body. The announcement came at a London conference of 400 scientists, government officials and patient lobby groups from 10 countries. "What was interesting was that they all said we are ahead of them," said Professor George Radda, head of the MRC, Britain's equivalent of the U.S. National Institutes of Health. And likely to stay ahead. The new bank is part of a concerted effort...
According to a recent survey in the Archives of Internal Medicine, an average of 40 drug errors occurred each day of 1999 in a typical, 300-bed hospital or nursing home. That translates to about two errors per patient each day, most of which involved giving patients medications at the wrong time or not giving the dose at all. And while only seven percent of those errors are considered potentially dangerous, the numbers are still enough to leave patients - and families of patients - wondering how to protect themselves...
...active patient: The most common drug error, according to the new study, is accidentally skipping a dose. The second most common mistake is taking the medication at the wrong time. Both of these errors could be diminished considerably if patients and patients' families pay careful attention to the dosage and distribution of what can often be a dizzying array of medications. This is especially true if you're keeping an eye on prescriptions for a young child, an elderly person or someone with compromised immunity, populations that can suffer much more dangerous responses to drug errors than someone whose immune...
...questions: "Know what medications you?re taking," advises Kirking, "or have a family member keep a list of the prescriptions. Don't be afraid to ask questions: ask what medications a patient will be on, find out what they do, when they should be taken, how many a day, et cetera." Often, the patient is the best line of defense against mistakes. "You should know what your medication looks like," says Vivian. "If the appearance, color or smell is different, ask your pharmacist to double-check the prescription...
Perez's time in combat, he says, made him a better man. "It changed me. It made me more attentive to everything," he says. "It made me more serious about life and family, more patient. Combat makes you value your family more; you think about them a lot when you're there. They may not be in the trenches ducking the bullets with you, but they're always there...