Many people rely on prescription medications. Modern pharmaceuticals can help people control their blood pressure, facilitate weight loss and delay the progression of debilitating medical conditions. It can be challenging to keep track of multiple drugs, their doses and when to obtain refills.
Patients trust the doctors prescribing their medication to recommend the right course of treatment and the pharmacist dispensing the drug to review and comply with the doctor’s recommendation. Unfortunately, major pharmacy medication errors are relatively common.
Receiving the wrong dose or even the wrong medication from a pharmacy are among the most common pharmaceutical errors reported in the United States. They can have devastating consequences for patients and may require legal action to address.
The impacts of pharmacist errors
If a pharmacist erroneously provides the wrong medication to a patient, that mistake could trigger a cascade of medical consequences if the patient does not immediately identify the error. The wrong medication dispensed can disrupt treatment and cause serious reactions.
If the patient takes the medication, they might experience a variety of medical complications. The first is the loss of control over the treated condition, which may worsen without the actual prescribed medication.
The second is an adverse reaction to the drug provided by the pharmacist. The patient might have contraindications for that medication that make taking it dangerous. They may also be on other medications that interact with the drug that they should not have received.
The wrong dose from a pharmacy can be equally problematic, although for slightly different reasons. A pharmacist dispensing a low dose of a drug that requires a higher dose based on body weight might undermine the patient’s treatment. Inappropriately low doses of antibiotics, for example, might result in an infection not only worsening but becoming resistant to treatment with similar medications. The patient may then require hospitalization to address their infection.
Providing a patient with an inappropriately high dose can lead to an overdose or even damage to organs. Medication mix-ups and dosage errors are easily preventable with appropriate procedures in the pharmacy. As such, they represent a deviation from best practices and may constitute medical malpractice.
Patients affected by pharmacy errors may have questions about their legal rights. To protect themselves, they generally need to keep the incorrect medication (but put it where it won’t mistakenly be used), maintain written records of any adverse side effects and report the issue to the pharmacist. They may also need to seek medical attention and then consult with an attorney after addressing the immediate medical consequences of the error.
A major medication error that a pharmacist should have been able to avoid could be medical malpractice in Ohio if it caused harm to the patient. Reviewing the dispensing error that occurred and the impact that it had on the patient can help impacted parties hold pharmacists accountable through a medical malpractice lawsuit.