Study urges low-tech solutions for medical errors

Standardizing the look of medication labels could significantly decrease costly and potentially harmful medication errors, according to a study by anesthesiologists at Penn State Hershey. Researchers tested a simple color-coding system in simulated emergency room situations and said a universal system could help prevent some of the 1.5 million adverse drug reactions each year caused by medication mistakes. These mistakes cost the healthcare industry an estimated $3.5 billion annually.