Journal of general internal medicine
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To evaluate the incidence and preventability of adverse drug events (ADEs) and to determine the yield of several strategies for identifying them. ⋯ The authors conclude that ADEs are not infrequent, often preventable, and usually caused by physician decisions. In this study, solicited reporting by nurses and pharmacists was inferior to chart review for identifying ADEs, but was effective for identifying potential ADEs. Optimal prevention strategies should cover many types of drugs and target physicians' ordering practices.