Causes of Medication Errors

Over 770,000 people get injured and over 7,000 people die each year in the United States from medication errors. This is unfortunate because any improvements in medical technologies can almost considered to be useless if careless errors continue to plague our healthcare system. However, the statistics do not seem to worry too many healthcare practitioners, and errors continue to occur.

Medication errors can cause long-lasting problems and in the most severe cases, they can result in death. Victims of these medical mistakes frequently have to endure additional medical attention and as a result, face expensive medical bills that they are responsible for paying because of someone else's errors.

Causes of Medication Errors

Errors with medication can arise due to a number of factors. Some of the most common causes of these devastating mistakes include the following:

* Doctor failure to note potential drug interactions * Incorrect / incomplete medical evaluations * Rushed attempts to treat as many patients as possible * Administration or prescription of incorrect drug or dosage * Administrative errors * Lack of communication

Patients trust their doctors to make careful and well thought out decisions regarding their health. However, healthcare practitioners have become impersonal and injuries to patients continue to increase.

You can do a few things to reduce the chances of a medication error, such as asking the doctor the name of the drug he or she is prescribing, the dosage, and the likely effects of the drug. Also, you can ask a friend or family member to make sure that the drug given to you matches the name of the drug written on the prescription. Finally, you should also continuously remind your doctor of the allergies and reactions you have to different drugs and products.