Doctors, pharmacists, and patients' groups in the Netherlands are demanding government action on drug safety after a national study has concluded that drug related problems were responsible for twice as many hospital admissions as road traffic crashes.

The hospital admissions related to medication (HARM) study found that 41 000 hospital admissions a year in the Netherlands were caused either by the incorrect use of or adverse reactions to drugs (www.nvza.nl).

These admissions accounted for 5.6% of acute admissions and were twice as likely to involve patients older than 65 years.

Almost half—19 000 …