Welcome to the Center for Medication Safety's Web site. Our mission is to provide the most current information, resources, and programs to help you understand the incidence, implications, and costs of adverse drug effects (ADEs), while providing useful tools, services, and solutions to improve drug safety and effectiveness – particularly for those most susceptible - children and seniors. 

There is a tremendous need to understand and address the issues associated with adverse drug effects, especially now. Drugs, either over-the-counter or prescription medications, are extensively used in the treatment for many diseases and illnesses. Although drug therapies can enhance quality of life and cure disease, they can also produce unintended and undesirable effects, from minor to life-threatening. The underlying causes for these undesirable effects are complex and may be due to genetics, illness, or by simple drug errors, or any combination of these. The costs, both physical and financial can be devastating.

The Center for Medication Safety was created in 2005 by the Medical University of South Carolina under the direction of the South Carolina College of Pharmacy to study the effects of prescription and over-the-counter medications on children and the elderly. Many drugs available today have not been tested in these two groups so there is insufficient clinical data to identify, treat and prevent adverse drug effects. We seek to overcome this “knowledge deficit” and further enhance the health and safety of patients under our care.

Our goal is to address these problems using research and education/outreach.

Whether you are a parent, a health care provider, a research scientist, or someone just interested in learning more about drug safety, I invite you to explore our Web site and see how the Center for Medication Safety can make a difference for you. 

Rick G. Schnellmann, PhD
Director