With so many medications being prescribed to patients on a daily basis in Illinois, it is not surprising that a majority of the medical malpractice cases in the state involve a medication error. Unfortunately, these common types of errors in Chicago and throughout the entire nation can have serious or deadly consequences.
An error made by a physician when prescribing a drug could result in an overdose or underdose. An individual could suffer serious health complications after being prescribed a wrong drug. A wrong combination of drugs could cause a patient to suffer a severe or fatal reaction. A doctor could fail to properly warn a patient about dangerous side effects from using a drug. And a pharmacy could make a mistake when filling a prescription.
Although patients may not be able to prevent doctors from making a mistake when it comes to prescribing a medication, patients in Illinois and other states can take certain precautions in order to prevent themselves from suffering serious injuries when a pharmacy does make a mistake.
The Agency for Healthcare Quality and Research told ABC News that there are many ways pharmacists can make mistakes, but there are also several things patients can do in order to ensure that they do not swallow the wrong pill after picking up their medications from a pharmacy.
We will continue this discussion later this week on our Chicago medical malpractice law blog, focusing on some of the common mistakes that are made at pharmacies nationwide and how patients can take greater control in preventing a pharmacist’s mistake from potentially causing injury or death.
Source: ABC News, “Pharmacy Error: Swallowing the Wrong Pill,” Lara Salahi, Nov. 23 2011
