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Avoid Prescriptions Drug Mistakes

An Institute of Medicine report estimates that each year 1.5 million Americans are injured or killed from medication mix-ups and mistakes. This means that very likely you or someone you know has been affect by the mistakes a doctor or pharmacist made. The question is: Why are medical professionals making so many mistakes?

Common Medication Errors

• 1. Mixing up medications for patients in nursing homes and hospitals. This common error occurs when the wrong medication is given to the wrong patient. Long hours and high patient turnover increases the incident of human error.
• 2. Drug name confusion. Many drugs have very similar names but very different effects. Even though the FDA reviews and rejects hundreds of prescription drug names each year there are still many that can get confused in the shuffle of the pharmacy.
• 3. Drug labeling. Drug labels, both over the counter and prescription can have lengthy, confusing instructions and warnings. The FDA has implemented new formats for package inserts that come with all prescription drugs.
• 4. Incorrect dosing. When the doctor fills out a prescription there is a chance of error with the dosing. For example, a pharmacist may read a 20 as 200 and fill the prescription at a much higher dose than needed.

Protecting Yourself from Medication Errors

• Know the types of errors that occur. The above list serves as a guide to the more common mistakes. Being familiar with them can help you avoid becoming a victim of a medication error.
• Make sure that you know what drugs you are taking and what purpose they serve. Ask your doctor to write the purpose of the prescription along with the name on the order.
• Know your medication. Ensure that you understand the directions. Read every side effect and instruction before you take any medication. If you are not sure about any portion of the directions ask your pharmacist to clarify.
• Keep a list of every medication you take. This includes over the counter drugs, supplements, medicinal herbs and prescription drugs. Be sure to fully disclose this information to every doctor you visit as even herbal supplements can reduce the effectiveness or cause a bad reaction with new prescriptions.
• Don't be afraid to ask questions. You are protecting your life when you ask questions of your doctor and pharmacist. If you have any questions at all ask and don't stop asking until you are satisfied with the answer.

Resources

Follow the links below to learn more about avoiding prescription drug mistakes.

• This link takes you to a list of ten medications with very similar names:

http://health.discovery.com/centers/wellness/how-not-to-die/commonly-confused-medications.html

• Additional prevention tips:

https://www.wpsic.com/employers/pdf/22286_leader07_07.pdf

http://www.aafp.org/fpm/20070200/41simp.html

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