While people in Brooklyn may not always enjoy taking medication, it goes without saying that some of these medications are absolutely necessary for our good health and well-being. However, preventable medication errors do occur, harming those taking the medication. In fact, each year around 1,500,000 individuals in the U.S. suffer harm due to a medication error. The following is an overview of some common types of medication errors.
Prescription errors
Sometimes the medication error occurs before a person even swallows the pill. A prescription error occurs when the doctor makes a mistake regarding the type of medication, the dosage or without consulting the patient’s medical history. This can result in a misdiagnosis, leading to patient harm.
Preparation errors
Once a medication is prescribed, it needs to be prepared and packaged. Generally, it is the pharmacist who completes this task. If proper hand hygiene is not practiced in the preparation product, the medication can become contaminated. Mistakes in the identification of the medication or its components can also lead to patient harm.
Paperwork errors
Prescriptions are not immune to typos. Something such as a misspelling or a typo can lead to an overdose or make the medication ineffective. In addition, if the physician does not properly review the patient’s medical chart, they may miss a dangerous drug interaction or a preexisting condition, which could lead to patient harm.
Learn more about medical malpractice in Brooklyn
Medication errors are a serious form of medical malpractice that can cause significant harm to a patient. For this reason, many victims of medical malpractice choose to pursue compensation for the harms they suffered. This post is for educational purposes only and does not contain legal advice. Our firm’s webpage on medical malpractice may be of interest to those who want further information on this topic.