Medication and Prescription Errors

Medications should make you feel better, not worse. However, there are many reasons why you may respond negatively to a drug.  Any medication can have unexpected side effects.  Adverse interactions with your body chemistry, other medications, and things you regularly consume — like alcohol, food, and drinks — may occur naturally and be no one’s fault. The problem is when a dangerous reaction could have been prevented if the pharmacist had been more careful.

Pharmacists are skilled medical professionals with specialized training in drugs and their interactions with other compounds. These practitioners do not simply count and administer pills. They must understand the chemical makeup of drugs and how drugs interact with the body and other medications to avoid potentially harmful drug interactions, allergic reactions, and drug effectiveness. They are also trained to dispense medication per doctor’s orders and carefully review correct medication use with patients.

Prescription errors are not only inconvenient. They can also be deadly. Some of the most common medication errors include:

• Wrong medication
• Wrong prescription
• Receiving medication meant for another person
• Incorrect dosages
• Incorrect labeling
• Incorrect medication instructions
• Failure to address drug interactions when a patient is on existing medications
• Failure to disclose how to take the medication correctly
• Failure to discuss possible side effects
• Failure to address potential risks between a drug and a patient’s known allergies

Presciptions errors is more than making a mistake. It is about a practitioner’s failure to provide patients with an appropriate standard of care. That means a pharmacist with similar training would not be expected to make the same error under the same circumstances.

People injured from a pharmacy error may be eligible to file medical malpractice lawsuits against the negligent medical professional. You need a firm of solicitors familiar with handling cases involving pharmacy errors to give you the best possible chance of a successful outcome.