According to the Center for Disease Control, over 80% of Americans take some form of medication, and nearly 30% take five or more. Given how many of us regularly take medications, our Northern New Jersey medical malpractice lawyers at Buttafuoco & Associates are keenly aware of how many of us are vulnerable to medication errors. While many medication errors are harmless, some of the possible effects of an error are incredibly serious.
In this article, we’ll discuss the common causes of medication errors and describe when an error rises to the level of medical malpractice.
Causes of Medication Errors
Medication errors, whether unintentional or due to blatant negligence, can cause incredibly serious adverse drug events, including:
- Progression of a disease or disorder due to lack of proper treatment
- Side effects from accidentally administered medication
- Unanticipated medication interactions
But how do these drug errors happen? Some of the most common causes are below.
Look-Alike Sound-Alike Medications
Look-Alike Sound-Alike medications, abbreviated as LASA, are drugs that share similar names or packaging, leading to confusion during prescription, dispensing, or administration. These medications may belong to different therapeutic classes or have vastly different dosages, yet their visual or auditory similarities can result in medical errors. In fact, the Institute for Safe Medical Practices maintains a List of Confused Drug Names to help medical practitioners avoid errors in this way.
Miscommunication
Clear communication is paramount in healthcare, yet miscommunication among health care providers, patients, and pharmacists remains a significant cause of medication errors. Misunderstood instructions and failure to convey vital information can lead to the wrong dose or even the administration of the wrong drug, especially with LASAs. Misunderstood verbal instructions, unclear written orders, or lack of proper documentation can lead to administering the wrong medication, an incorrect dosage, or even a harmful drug interaction.
Illegible Handwriting
Many hospitals and medical offices have digitized much of their paperwork, but poor handwriting is still a frequent problem in healthcare. When healthcare professionals, including doctors and nurses, fail to write prescriptions or instructions clearly, pharmacists and medical staff may misinterpret vital information. This can result in incorrect dosages, wrong medications, or missed crucial details, ultimately jeopardizing patient safety.
Poor Standard Practices
There are several steps and safe medication practices between initial diagnosis and administering medication where errors can occur, and often these have to do with hospitals having poor standard procedures with ineffective safety checks surrounding prescription, pharmacy fulfillment, and medication administration.
Errors can also occur because of poor workflows or practices around common events such as patient intake and medical records. When a hospital hopes to reduce medication errors they often first look at their standard practices. For example, one study published in the journal Drug Safety found that online medication prescription systems where the physicians can receive feedback on the order can significantly reduce medication errors.
When is a Medication Error Medical Malpractice?
Medication errors are common, and while not all of them rise to the level of a medical malpractice lawsuit, they can still have devastating consequences. If you work with a medical malpractice lawyer in Northern New Jersey to file a medical malpractice claim, you will need to establish three elements:
- Breach of Standard of Care:
Medical malpractice cases hinge on proving negligence on the part of the healthcare provider. This involves demonstrating that the provider’s actions fell below the standard of care expected in their profession. - Direct Patient Harm:
The medication error must directly result in patient harm, injury, illness, or worsened health. The harm must be a direct consequence of the healthcare provider’s negligent actions or omissions. This clear link between the healthcare provider’s actions and the resulting harm is essential. - Damages:
This harm from the medication error must have resulted in specific damages to the plaintiff. This can include medical expenses, injuries, lost wages, or wrongful death.
Establishing these elements can be difficult, so we highly recommend working with an experienced medical malpractice attorney serving Northern New Jersey. Get in touch with Buttafuoco & Associates for a free consultation and get the compensation you deserve.
Call 1-800-NOW-HURT.
