Bad Drug Day

Filling a prescription at the beginning of the month could be bad for your health. Researchers at the University of California, San Diego, analyzed more than 130,000 fatal prescription-drug poisonings and found that they spiked during the first few days of each month--when government assistance checks arrive in the mail. Part of the blame, say the study's authors, may be the increased workload--and higher error rates--as patients flock to their pharmacies.