Medication errors can occur during the prescribing process. Doctors might recommend a drug that interacts with another prescription the patient already takes. They might provide a patient with an inappropriately high dose of a medication or excessive refills.
Frequently, medication errors occur during the administration of medications rather than during the prescribing process. Professionals working in hospitals and similar facilities may make mistakes when administering drugs. Even intravenous (IV) medications administered using machinery operated by health care professionals are subject to significant administration errors. Such mistakes are far more common than patients who trust their health care providers might realize.
IV errors are easy to make
There are multiple types of IV medication errors that people can make in the hospital or similar medical settings. Research indicates that roughly 11.5% of IV drug treatments involve an administration error, and some of those errors can have major consequences for patients.
Many IV errors relate to timing mistakes. Hospital workers input the wrong information regarding the rate at which the machine delivers the drug. Slow delivery may reduce treatment efficacy, while rapid delivery could lead to overdoses and similar issues.
Sometimes, medical professionals mix up bags of IV medications, resulting in patients receiving the wrong drug. Inputting the wrong information into the device controlling the delivery of IV medication is also somewhat common.
Patients who have experienced medication errors and other forms of negligence in medical settings may have more medical costs and lost wages than those who receive appropriate care. Pursuing a medical malpractice lawsuit could potentially compensate those harmed by preventable medication errors.