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GREENVILLE (AP) --  

GREENVILLE, S.C. (AP) -- South Carolina's Medication Safety and Efficacy Center of Economic Excellence has named Dr. Charles Bennett to lead efforts to reduce errors in doling out medicines in hospitals.

The Greenville News reported Sunday that medication errors injure or kill 1.5 million Americans each year, costing hospitals more than $3.5 billion.

Bennett is a hematologist and an oncologist. He is a former professor of medicine at Northwestern University. He founded a company in 1998 that investigates adverse drug and device reactions among patients.

He will work at the University of South Carolina campus of the South Carolina College of Pharmacy.

The Centers of Economic Excellence program was begun in 2002 and is funded by proceeds from the state lottery.

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Information from: The Greenville News, http://www.greenvillenews.com

(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

(Copyright ©2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)