Taking medicine can be a typical way to treat various mild to moderate illnesses, with some severe conditions relying on potent substances to address or control symptoms. Still, these medications could be the root of different health issues if taken incorrectly. Thankfully, there are trained health care professionals who can help prevent these incidents, but mistakes could happen, putting vulnerable patients at risk.
Medication errors can happen in many ways, providing information on who might be at fault. It can be devastating when a professional meant to maintain safety when using medicine, such as a pharmacist, becomes negligent and makes these mistakes. In the following instances, they could have made the error:
- The patient took an expired substance, which should have been disposed of by the pharmacy or the facility storing the medication.
- The patient had an adverse reaction despite consulting the pharmacist about their allergies, often caused by ineffective communication.
- The patient received an inappropriate dosage or type of the substance because the pharmacist did not read the prescription correctly.
- The patient suffers from an overdose because the pharmacist failed to notify the patient about an error in the prescription and dispensed the medication without confirming the details.
- The pharmacy mixed up patient identities and dispensed the incorrect drug, worsening the patient’s condition.
In some scenarios, the pharmacist might not be the only one at fault. Sometimes, the patient, nurse or doctor administered the medicine improperly, which could lead to grave consequences.
Holding negligent parties accountable
The risk of medication errors can be present for anyone taking medicine. Still, certain people may have a higher chance of facing grave injuries because of their physical conditions, such as elders or disabled individuals in nursing facilities. They can be more vulnerable, mainly because they may rely on health care providers heavily to dispense and administer their medicine. If negligence happened and caused severe harm to their health, it could be medical malpractice, making a claim necessary to hold those at fault accountable for nursing negligence.