Box 1.

Medication harm definitions and terminology. ^a .

Acronym	Definition
ADE	Any untoward medical occurrence that may present during treatment with a pharmaceutical product but that does not necessarily have a causal relation to the treatment
ADR	A response to a medicine which is noxious and unintended, and which occurs at doses normally used in man
ME	Any preventable event that may cause or lead to inappropriate medication use or patient harm while the medication is in the control of the health care professional, patient, or consumer

^aBased on definitions from the World Health Organization.

ADE, adverse drug event; ADR, adverse drug reaction; ME, medication error.