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Pharmacy and Medication Errors

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Some medications are classified as controlled substances because of the effects their chemicals have upon the body and brain. If used correctly, these drugs can effectively help individuals who are suffering. However, if used incorrectly, these same medications can become very dangerous to the user.

If a physician fails to properly consider all factors when prescribing medication, the result can be disastrous to the patient in the form of complications, permanent health damage or even death. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, an estimated 1 million emergency room visits each year are due to an adverse drug event, or ADE. In addition, over 3.5 million doctor visits yearly stem from the same cause. Some estimates show that preventable medicine errors affect over 7 million people annually at a cost of nearly $21 billion.

Further statistics reveal that when patients are dismissed from the hospital, about 30 percent of them have a discrepancy on their discharge medication reconciliation. ADEs and medicine errors go seriously underreported while negatively affecting patients, health providers, and the nation’s economy.

If you have suffered through a medication error at the hands of a Georgia medical professional, you may qualify to receive compensation for your medical expenses and your pain and suffering. Let our team of experienced legal professionals at The Eichholz Law Firm give you the help you need to file your medication error lawsuit.

Medication Errors Explained

When medication is in the hands of a medical professional, a consumer or a patient, any preventable event occurring that could lead to patient harm or inappropriate use is considered to be a medication error. Some of these preventable events may be connected to:

  • Procedures
  • Professional practice
  • Health care products
  • Systems
  • Product labeling
  • Prescribing
  • Packaging
  • Order communication
  • Compounding
  • Terms and naming
  • Distribution
  • Dispensing
  • Monitoring
  • Education
  • Administration

Every year, the Food and Drug Administration gets over 100,000 reports of suspected medication errors. The agency reviews and classifies each report in an effort to pinpoint the cause and kind of error. The reports are generated through medical professionals, drug manufacturers, and through the FDA’s program called MedWatch. This is a consumer reporting avenue to channel information from the public to the agency regarding medication safety concerns and adverse drug events.

Classifications of Medication Errors

Prescribing Errors – These errors happen when the wrong drug, quantity, dosage, concentration, instructions or method of administration of a medication are ordered by a medical professional. An example could involve an individual with heart problems who also needs a second drug to diminish the side effects of the main medication. However, the doctor writes the second prescription for a wrong dosage amount.

Omission Errors – This type of error happens when a dose of medicine is not given at the proper time, so the spacing interval before the next dosage is either too long or too short. Many drugs must be consistently given at exactly the right predetermined interval.

Improper Administration Errors – When medication is given in the wrong way to a patient, this is classified as improper administration. An example of this is when a drug is prescribed to be given intravenously, but is instead given via a pill by mouth.

Fragmented Care Errors – A communication failure between the prescribing doctor and the medical professional in charge of giving the medication can result in this error. If the physician fails to give proper instructions to a nurse to dispense a certain medication, the result will be fragmented care of the patient.

Common Causes of Medication Errors

The errors that occur with medications are sometimes due to negligence on the part of a pharmacist, nurse, or the prescribing physician. A legal claim of negligence may result from poor written or oral communication, system errors, carelessness, understaffing, ineffective precautionary measures, or work overload. Without question, medication errors can be life threatening and can put patients at a high risk for adverse reactions. In some cases, a patient may be deprived of needed medication, and in other cases, a patient may be seriously damaged by a high dosage of the wrong drug.

Negligence may be determined if a pharmacist, nurse or physician:

  • Carelessly prescribed incorrect medication
  • Gave the wrong dosage to a patient
  • Gave medication to a patient they did not need
  • Failed to gather patient’s history of medication/drug use
  • Failed to warn patient of all the risks connected to the medication
  • Dangerously mixed various prescription medications

Medication Error Examples

Numerous individuals and entities are involved on so many different levels that it can be very difficult to determine exactly where a medication error originated. For example, the error could be introduced by the prescribing physician, or the nurse who administers the drug, or the pharmacy who sends the wrong medication to the nurses’ station at the hospital, or the drug manufacturer who incorrectly labels the dosage on a medicine bottle.

The following are examples of some medication error cases:

  • A doctor knows that a patient is allergic to a drug yet prescribes the medication anyway resulting in an allergic reaction.
  • A patient is already taking medications that should not be taken with certain other drugs. A new doctor fails to review the patient’s medical history before prescribing one of the prohibited drugs.
  • A prescription for Medication XYZ was given to the pharmacy, but Medication ABC was wrongly dispensed instead.
  • The drug manufacturer accidentally packages Medicine G in Medicine C’s bottle. Scores of patients receive the wrong drug.
  • The doctor correctly writes the prescription, but either the pharmacist or nurse incorrectly reads the dosage, so the patient is given too much or too little.

Common Side Effects From Medication Errors

Some very serious side effects can occur if a patient gets the wrong drug or dosage, or if one medicine doesn’t mix well with another. Granted, some side effects may seem minor, such as feeling drowsy, but others can be life-threatening or cause permanent health issues.

Among the most common adverse drug reactions and side effects are:

  • Allergic reactions
  • Breathing difficulties
  • Internal bleeding
  • Brain damage
  • Seriously high blood pressure or heart rate
  • Distorted thinking or hallucinations
  • Drug addiction
  • Unconsciousness or coma
  • Stroke, heart failure or death
  • Anxiety, depression or suicidal thoughts

Preventing Medication Errors

Individuals who take medication can be important players in helping to reduce medication errors. The following are some safety tips to work toward this end:

  • Become familiar with the risks and causes of medication errors.
  • Proactively know what medication is being given and what it does. Ask the doctor about the medication when it is being prescribed.
  • Be sure to discuss how the drug is to be taken. Understand all directions. Find out if it should be refrigerated.
  • Look at the medication label with each dose. If several medications are being taken, this will help eliminate accidentally getting the wrong bottle.
  • Keep each drug in its original container to easily identify pills. In addition, make a list of all medications being taken, and include each pill or capsule’s color and shape, plus its purpose.
  • Provide medical professionals with an updated list of all supplements, prescription medicines, over-the-counter drugs and natural herbs being taken.
  • Know about potential interactions between all drugs being taken and any foods.
  • If you have questions about medications, speak with a pharmacist or other medical provider.
  • Report any suspected medication errors to the FDA’s MedWatch program.

Lawsuits Regarding Negligence and Medication Errors

When individuals suffer health complications due to medication errors, they may be eligible to file a medical malpractice lawsuit. However, not all medical mistakes, misdiagnoses, or complications merit legal action. Negligence must be at the root of a valid malpractice claim to be made. The victim will have to prove four points in a negligence claim: duty of care, breach of duty, causation and damages.

Duty of Care – Medical providers are obligated to perform in the same manner that the medical profession would require from a similarly qualified medical provider in similar circumstances. This duty of care is like a contractual agreement between the medical professional and the patient. It applies to doctors and medical providers in all specialties. With regard to prescribing drugs, the medical provider’s duty is to know about any allergies or current medications the patient is taking.

Breach of Duty – When there is failure on the part of a medical provider to perform at the level of the required standard of care, and a patient is further injured or sickened, the medical provider may be held liable for this breach of duty. If a pharmacist or physician fails to ask a patient about medical history, allergies or other drugs being taken, the medical professional can be found liable for harm that the patient suffers due to this oversight.

Causation – Negligence on the part of the medical professional must be shown as the direct cause of the patient’s injury. It is not enough to simply show that the wrong medication was prescribed or filled at a pharmacy when claiming malpractice.

Damages – The injury suffered by the patient must have resulted in either emotional or economic damage. Lost wages or medical expenses constitute economic damages. If an individual suffers long-term physical injury, he or she may possibly be awarded compensation of a non-economic nature for the pain and suffering endured.

Looking to File a Medication Error Lawsuit?

Our legal team at The Eichholz Law Firm put together this informational article to help victims recognize that there is potential compensation for damages suffered as the result of a medication error. If that’s you, we want to talk with you about your case and help you find justice by holding the responsible parties liable.

Give us a call today. 

References

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