Costs of illness due to adverse effects of drugs is estimated to 117.4 billion ($ 117.400.000.000) in 2000 for the United States alone (Ernest and Grizze, 2001). It is hard to comprehend the magnitude of this number, but it is only the financial side of the problem. It is estimated that up 98.000 American die every year due to drug related events an unknown number of patients experience additional suffering and injuries (2).
