Medications are supposed to help you. Whether you are taking an antibiotic to cure an infection, taking blood pressure medication to keep your levels in check, or on an antidepressant to help with your mood, you assume that prescriptions given to you by physicians are correct and safe for use – and that they will help you feel better.
Unfortunately, medication errors happen all too frequently in the American healthcare system, and sometimes these errors result in serious injuries – sometimes even death. Medication errors can occur at any level of the distribution chain, from the initial prescription to pharmacy technicians filling it, to a nurse manually administering medications in the hospital.
To fully understand the impact of these errors, you must first understand the various types of medication errors occurring in the U.S., their cause, and the results of these errors for the patient and their family.
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What are the Most Common Types of Medication Errors?
Medication errors occur on all levels of the healthcare chain, and they can include:
- Prescribing the wrong medication for the wrong type of treatment
- Prescribing an incorrect dosage of a medication (such as too much or too little)
- Physically administering the wrong medicine to the patient
- Giving the patient an incorrect dose of medication in a hospital
- Not asking for the patient’s history before prescribing
- Prescribing medications with dangerous interactions
- Prescribing a medication that the patient is allergic to
- Not informing a patient of the risks of a medication
- Using a prescription for off-label treatment
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Why Are Medication Errors So Common? Looking at the Causes for Medication Errors in the U.S.
Health care workers today are understaffed. The demand is high for nurses, physicians, and even technicians in all aspects of the industry. With this shortage already in play, it increases the risks for medication errors at a physician’s office, pharmacy, or in the hospital setting.
Some of the most common reasons medication errors happen include:
- Lack of training. When healthcare workers do not receive proper training on medications, how to read them, or even how to dispense them, it can lead to numerous errors.
- No experience or knowledge about medications. Some pharmacy technicians do not have the training to recognize which medication is which; thus, leading them to filling a prescription with an incorrect medication.
- Lack of communication between physicians and other healthcare professionals. Physicians may not accurately communicate in a note to a nurse on what dosage of medicine to give a patient, or their instructions in a prescription order could be left to interpretation by the pharmacist – leading to errors.
- Too little time to spend with a patient and get a full history. Often, doctors have just minutes with each patient before they need to move to the next room and treat someone else. Because of these time constraints, physicians have less time to get a full patient history – including asking about existing medications (and over-the-counter drugs) that they are taking, which could interact with the prescription they are giving them that day.
- Limited or inadequate procedures and protocols. There should be checks and balances at all levels. Whether it means a nurse double checking a dosage before administering it to a patient, or pharmacy technicians following protocols to ensure the right medicine gets to the correct patient, when healthcare facilities have limited protocols in place, the room for error grows.
- Inadequate patient monitoring after administering a medication. Sometimes, the right medication is given, but the patient is not monitored to see if their dosage needs adjustments or if they have an adverse reaction to the drug.
The Consequences of Medication Errors Are Severe
A medication error can lead to numerous complications, including long-term injuries or fatalities. Most of these injuries are preventable, which makes it even more important for victims to understand their rights. If you or a loved one was injured from a medication error, you may be entitled to compensation. Furthermore, it is your right to hold that healthcare worker or facility responsible for your injury – and hopefully, they will change in-house policies to prevent future victims.
For example, you are taking an antibiotic for an infection. However, your physician prescribed the wrong dose; giving you too little. The antibiotic is not working, and the infection continues to spread. Now it has entered the bloodstream causing sepsis. By the time it is realized, you are in septic shock. Septic shock can be fatal – and is in most cases. Because your physician didn’t prescribe the correct dosage, you are now facing a fatal condition all because of a minor infection that would have been eradicated if you had the right dose of antibiotics.
Just a simple slip of writing the wrong dose costs a patient, and their loved ones, a life.
Your Rights as a Victim of Medication Errors – Speak with a Malpractice Attorney Today
Medication errors fall under malpractice. and if you are the victim of a medication error or you lost a loved one from a preventable error, you have rights.
The first step is to speak with a medication error attorney like attorney Seth Gladstein from the Gladstein Law Firm, PLLC.
We know how devastating it is to be injured when you trusted your physician to give you the care you needed to feel better. Whether it was on the physician’s level, pharmacy, or from a hospital employee, you have the right to seek compensation and hold them responsible for your losses.
Now is the time to schedule an appointment with an attorney and go over your options. There is no risk for having an initial consultation, and you can get peace of mind knowing what your rights are and where you can go from here to seek damages.
To get started, schedule a call with our team at 502-791-9000 or request more information online about our law firm.
Contact Gladstein Law Firm, PLLC
online or by calling 502-791-9000.
