When New York residents are given a prescription, they expect the medication to help them get better and manage their health conditions. However, pharmacy errors do occur. These could have severe consequences, potentially resulting in a worsening medical condition, illness or even death.
When New York residents are given a prescription, they expect the medication to help them get better and manage their health conditions. However, pharmacy errors do occur. These could have severe consequences, potentially resulting in a worsening medical condition, illness or even death.
Generally speaking, pharmacy errors are preventable. Even so, there are certain common mistakes that can occur. These include prescribing the wrong medication, prescribing the wrong dose of the right medication and failing to catch potential complications between different drugs. Other common mistakes include failing to warn patients of certain potentially dangerous side effects and prescribing medications that are defective or unsafe. There are several reasons why these pharmacy errors may occur. Many pharmacists are often overworked due to 12-hour shifts, during which they may fill as many as 450 prescriptions. There may be poor communication between pharmacists and doctors or the pharmacists may have insufficient training.
Pharmacies can prevent these types of errors by ensuring that staffing is sufficient to reduce stress and the amount of workload each pharmacist may be responsible for. Prescriptions should be thoroughly checked and any unclear information should be clarified. Finally, patients should be provided with counseling so that they know how to properly take the medication.
Half of all Americans take some sort of prescription medication to help them live healthier lives. However, they can suffer serious complications if they are given the wrong medication, the wrong dose or medications that do not work well together. Those who suffer serious harm due to a medication error may have the grounds to file a medical malpractice claim against the doctor or pharmacist who made the error. They might want to meet with an attorney to determine how best to proceed.
