Common prescription error types

The intent of prescription medications is to treat various physical and mental issues that people may face. However, when a patient experiences prescription errors, it can have serious negative effects.

Thankfully, in such cases, patients may have legal recourse. Understanding the type of prescription error may be beneficial to building a strong claim. There are a few common prescription errors that patients may experience.

Pharmaceutical error

Good pharmacists adhere to strict requirements in an effort to decrease the possibility of error. Unfortunately, errors are still possible. Pharmacists may provide patients with the wrong prescription medications or the wrong dosage. In cases where the CDC recalls a medication or does not approve of a drug, a pharmacist who still distributes said drug without the patient’s knowledge puts the patient in danger and may be held liable. Even providing the correct medications without the proper instructions can be quite dangerous. In some cases, the pharmacist may provide proper service but the technician assistant may make a mistake, such as mixing the medications or labels.

Misdiagnosis

A medical misdiagnosis can easily lead to patients receiving incorrect medication. In addition, if a physician prescribes a medication without full consideration of any medications that a patient is currently using, it may create a lethal drug mix or overdose the patient.

Administration

The administering of medications is a serious task. A prescription error may occur while parties are in the hospital or receiving treatment at home if the caregiver does not administer the correct medications at the right time. This may occur from misreading labels or simply not adhering to a medication schedule. Such negligence can have severe consequences for the patient, and therefore create grounds for a claim.

While these are some of the more common ways that prescription errors occur, these are not the only means. It is important to stay vigilant and keep medical providers aware of all medications that a patient is taking.