Medication errors can cause a host of complications. Some people experience drug interactions that undermine their response to treatment or cause complications.
Errors can occur at many stages, and health care professionals should be fastidious to ensure that they do not make errors related to prescription drugs. When should patients be extra attentive to protect themselves from preventable medication errors?
1. During the prescribing process
Doctors generally do not have their patients’ medical histories memorized. They need to conduct a review of their allergies and prior medical experiences to validate that a specific drug is appropriate. Doctors who overlook contraindications and interactions with other medications could prescribe a drug that does more harm than good.
2. During treatment termination
The way that people end medical treatment can be as safety critical as how they begin their treatment. Doctors generally need to validate that the treatment worked. Ending an antibiotic regimen while there is still an active infection could have devastating consequences, for example.
Doctors also need to take appropriate steps to prevent withdrawal and other negative side effects of abruptly ceasing treatment. Pain medications and prescription steroids are among the drugs that patients must taper off instead of stopping them abruptly.
3. During physical administration
Medical errors frequently occur during the actual administration of drugs. Nurses mix up the medications for patients in adjacent rooms or input information incorrectly into the device controlling the delivery of an intravenous (IV) medication. Errors during drug administration can undermine the efficacy of treatment or lead to major medical events, including overdoses.
Patients who can show that other professionals could have avoided the medication errors that affected them may have grounds for medical malpractice lawsuits. Holding a physician or facility accountable can help compensate those harmed by inappropriate conduct related to prescription drugs.