Drug Errors Peak in July When New Docs Start

Fatal medication errors spiked each July only in counties with teaching hospitals. In these counties, July deaths from medication mistakes were 10 percent higher than the expected level, the researchers report in the current issue of the Journal of General Internal Medicine.

No similar link was found for other causes of death or for deaths outside of hospitals.

The mistakes involved accidental drug overdoses, the wrong drug given or taken, and accidents in drug use in medical and surgical procedures.