It is common for the victims of prescription mistakes and other potentially dangerous medical errors to feel sympathy for medical professionals who made a mistake that could form the basis for a lawsuit. In fact, some victims decide not to report an error or make a claim because they feel guilty revealing…
Articles Posted in Patient Safety
The Most Dangerous Aspect of a Pharmacy Error May Not Be the Side Effects of the Unprescribed Medication
Prescription drugs are controlled by the government for a reason. They are often very powerful medications that can be dangerous when taken at the same time as other medications, they may be easily abused, and they may have very sensitive dosing instructions. However, when a doctor prescribes a patient a…
Pharmacy Errors Involving Injectable Drugs Administered in Medical Facilities
When most people think of pharmacy errors, they think of a busy pharmacist behind the counter at a grocery store or retail pharmacy. However, pharmacy errors occur in all shapes and sizes and at all locations, including errors in medications that are administered in the hospital by medical professionals. Many…
People Suffering from Complex Diseases Experience More Frequent Medication Errors
Almost everyone has been to the pharmacy to fill a prescription at some point in their life. In fact, many people routinely visit the pharmacy each month to get their regular prescriptions filled for maintenance medications. Some of these frequent pharmacy customers have many different prescriptions of which the pharmacist must…
Pharmacists Try New Approach to Reduce Medication Errors, Focusing on Increased Communication
Pharmacy errors are more common than most people realize, with approximately 7,000 deaths each year being attributed to medication errors. Many of these medication errors occur at retail and hospital pharmacies, where busy pharmacists scramble to fill thousands of prescriptions each day. Even a good-hearted and well-intentioned pharmacist can get…
Food and Drug Administration Recommends Specific Protocols to Avoid Prescription Errors
Medication errors are a major cause of serious injury and death in the United States. In fact, it is estimated that at least 7,000 Americans die each year due to medication-related issues. Many of these are due to patients being provided the wrong drug or wrong dose by their pharmacist.…
Maker of Essure Birth Control Device Likely Facing Class Action Lawsuit in Canada
Whenever a person is injured after using a dangerous product, they are able to file a product liability lawsuit against the manufacturer, and potentially others in the chain of commerce who handled the item. In the case of dangerous medical products, sometimes there are many people who suffer the exact…
Pharmacy Errors and the Elderly
Whenever a patient is given the wrong prescription, or even the incorrect dose of a prescribed medication, the results can be devastating, depending on the medication provided as well as the individual patient. Children and the elderly are at a heightened risk for developing serious or fatal symptoms after a…
Pharmacy Errors Due to Incorrect Packaging of Prescription Drugs
While many pharmacy errors are the result of an overworked or distracted pharmacist who provides the patient with the incorrect drug, there are a certain number of errors made each year due to prescription drugs being mis-labeled or mis-packaged by the drug’s manufacturer. In these cases, it is likely that the pharmacist…
What to Do if the Pharmacist Gives You the Wrong Medication
Ideally, pharmacists would always provide their patients with the correct medication and dosing instructions. However, that is not the reality we live in. It seems as though each week several new reports of prescription errors arise, some with serious or fatal consequences. While the duty to prevent these errors lies…