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Common Medication Errors (Part A)

Medical negligence can result when a medical professional fails to exercise an acceptable standard of care. This can occur in a number of medical situations, including the prescribing, dispensing and giving of medication.

Who Makes Medication Errors?

Medication errors can involve a number of people including:

• Pharmacists
• a Hospital
• Physicians
• Nurses
• the Medication Manufacturer
• Other medical personnel

From the manufacturing of the medication to the final filling of the prescription, there may be any number of medical professionals involved that could lead to medication errors.

Medication Error - Wrong Medication

Giving a patient the wrong medication is one common type of medication error. This can be the result of a doctor prescribing the wrong medication, a pharmacist filling the wrong kind of medication or a medical professional (such as a nurse or anesthesiologist) who administers the wrong medication.

Sometimes the wrong medication is given because there is a mix-up with patients. Medication mistakes can also happen when the name of a medication is similar to the name of another medication, not that this excuses this type of medical negligence. Another common cause for medication errors is when a pharmacist cannot read the doctor's handwriting so the wrong medication is filled.

Medication Error - Wrong Dose

Another common medication error is when the wrong dosage is given. A patient can end up being prescribed or given too much or too little of a dosage. Either of these could lead to injuries.

Too much dosage could result in further complications. Too little dosage could fail to take care of the medical condition being treated.

Medication Error - Patient Medical History

A patient's medical history is important to take into consideration when prescribing or administering medication. Some of the important components of a patient's medical history may include:

• Current medical conditions
• Allergies
• Other medications a patient is taking
• Lab results
• If a patient is pregnant
• Previously diagnosed medical conditions

Adverse reactions could result in serious injuries if a patient's medical history is not taken into account and the wrong medication is prescribed or administered.

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