Detecting, Treating and Preventing Drug-Related Morbidity

In Canada, 7.5 per cent of hospital admissions are complicated by an adverse event related to medical care that leads to death, disability, or a prolonged hospital stay. Adverse drug related events (ADREs) represent the most common cause of preventable non-surgical adverse events, with up to 130,000 patients in British Columbia (BC) presenting to Emergency Departments with a symptomatic ADRE. However, there are currently no efficient screening strategies for ADREs. This team is working to develop and evaluate a clinically effective, resource-efficient screening strategy. Once the strategy has been proven effective in an Emergency Department setting, the team aims to adapt it for use in community-based practice, and determine its cost effectiveness in comparison to the current standard of care.