For many patients, the scariest part of being in hospital is having to rely on other people to control life-changing decisions. Much of this is the medications that are given to us while we are in our care. I can only imagine what it means for patients to have a stranger come in and start giving me drugs. This would be especially scary if you didn't know what these drugs do or what negative effects might be caused by taking them. Unfortunately, many patients' fear of medication errors is not unfounded. Estimates range from 1.5 to 66 million patients per year who experience medication errors while under the care of healthcare professionals. Considering all the technology we have available today, you might think that we would have surpassed this scope of errors by now. However, one must always take into account the human element involved in all these situations. I recently read an article that sought to fully understand how we can eliminate as many medication errors as possible. The article entitled ASHP Guidelines on Preventing Medication Errors in Hospitals which outlines many different avenues that both individuals and organizations can take to reduce the occurrence of medication errors. Overall, I have to say that I agree with most of the methods described in the paper. One of the most important tips I read was in the Organizational and Departmental Recommendations section. It stated: "Care and consideration should be given in the recruitment and assignment of staff involved in the ordering, preparation, dispensing, administration and patient education of medicines. Policies and procedures should be developed which ensure adequate selection, training , supervision and .... of the staff.. at the heart of the paper... this is human nature we will never be perfect for the simple reason that it is not in our nature to be so , is to continuously work on different solutions that will improve our capabilities in the future. Or design an error-proof computer system that can order, calculate and administer all medications without errors. However, I do not foresee that we as humans will be willing to give so much control over a machine designed by imperfect beings. Works Cited Aleccia, J. (2010) Similar Drugs Trigger Dangers Health News on MSNBC.com, 1-4. American Society of Hospital Pharmacists (1993). ASHP Guidelines on Preventing Medication Errors in Hospitals. Pharmacological Misadventures, 129-137.Bates, D. W. (1998). The impact of computerized entry of medical prescriptions on the prevention of medication errors. Jamia , 1-175.