ABSTRACT
Chapters 2 to 5 described medications use as a complex and potentially dangerous mode of care. The misuse of drug products causes preventable patient injury and death, even though those drug products have been demonstrated, by controlled clinical trials, to be safe and effective according to the food and drug law. This problem may well be endemic throughout the industrialized nations. The human and economic costs are staggering. However, drug therapy is an essential part of health care. Clearly, underuse and nonuse of medications can be just as dangerous as adverse outcomes, so tightening safety requirements or avoiding medications use is not a reasonable alternative.
