Wrong Patient, Wrong Drug: An Unfortunate Confluence of Events

Older adults, aged 65 years or older, represent 14.9% of U.S. population, and are projected to increase to 22% by 2050. It is estimated that almost half of hospitalized patients are older adults and is expected to increase as the population ages. Hospitalized older adults are most vulnerable to adverse events because of aging‐related conditions, physiological changes, and multiple comorbidities as well as fragmented care. The primary goal of health care providers is to improve patient safety and decrease adverse events. This chapter will use a complex clinical scenario with numerous potential overlapping risks to address the many active and latent factors that lead to patient safety‐related adverse events. Factors involved, as well as preventive strategies, will be discussed in detail