A report published in September 9th's issue of Archives of Internal Medicine raises questions over the safety of drug administration at hospitals nationwide. The article describes a 1999 study in which pharmacy care researchers from Auburn University analyzed drug procedures at 36 hospitals and nursing homes in Colorado and Georgia, determining that 40 potentially harmful mistakes involving prescribed medications occurred at each facility daily. Most errors, which included overdoses and patients receiving the wrong medication, were made by nurses or other staff members after the physician had properly prescribed a drug.

Researchers involved in the study say the results present a "major problem" to healthcare officials and hospital administrators across the country. The study comes just after the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations announced that hospitals, beginning in January, will have to meet six new safety regulations annually, several aimed at preventing drug errors.