Aim
To study the incidence and identify the economic impact of patients with adverse drug reactions attending the emergency department.
Setting
A metropolitan district hospital.
Methods
Over a one year period, all attendances were screened for adverse reactions in accordance with specific criteria. An economic assessment was conducted to ascertain the direct cost to the health care system of identified patient presentations.
Results
One hundred and one attendances (0.59%) were due to adverse drug reactions and adverse reactions accounted for 44 hospital admissions via the emergency department (0.88%). Using a clinical costing model, adverse drug reactions cost $162,000 per annum.
Conclusion
Patients with adverse drug reactions form a small percentage of attendances but are a significant cost to manage.
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