Welcome to Tier 1.

You're here because you are interested in a brief background on the project. Read, watch, and click on!

Background

Please watch this 5-minute voice-over PowerPoint for a quick intro to the project.

Why does this matter?

The in-writing version of what you just watched above!

Medication errors - harm & cost

Medication errors are a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in the United States. The Institute of Medicine estimates that at least 1.5 million people are harmed annually, leading to more than US$3.5 billion in costs (Institute of Medicine, 2006). Nearly one third of these errors occur in the outpatient setting (Gandhi et al., 2003) and have been linked to problems with prescription drug labeling (Institute of Medicine, 2006), often an important source of medication information for patients.

So what happens exactly? Potentially costly medication errors and unnecessary (and frankly tragic) patient harm. Changing this system is about fewer adverse medication errors leading to unnecessary medical harm and about increased cost savings for the patient and the healthcare system overall from the potential harm incurred.

Inequity - social determinants of health

Low English proficiency (LEP) individuals face a variety of challenges in our society. In fact, LEP is a social determinant of health – just like low economic status or access to basic services or discrimination and racism.

The drive-home message: tri-fold impact