Medication Error

Pharmacist Liability

Surprisingly, based on data obtained by the American Medical Association and the Institute of Sciences, there are more fatalities per year from negligent administration of prescription drugs than from occupational injuries. These mistakes can be caused by:

• Taking incompatible drugs.
• Improper dosage.
• Taking the wrong medication.

These errors often occur under the guidance of a doctor or during an operation, which is why these cases often lead to medical malpractice lawsuits. In other instances, patients are harmed as a result of pharmacy error.

Pharmacist liability

A pharmacist is a medical professional who has undergone training that gives them the expertise required to precisely fill prescriptions. Pharmacists need to be able to do a lot more than read a doctor's handwriting; they also are responsible for:

• Notifying patients of usage information and other essentials such as warnings on the label.
• Accurately filling the prescription with the right amount of the requested drug.
• Replying to the patient's inquiries regarding drug usage, dangers, and interactions with other drugs.

In 2003, a study conducted by Auburn University revealed that 1.72 percent of prescriptions were flawed in some way. Three years later, a report issued by the Institute of Medicine stated that 1.5 million Americans are injured annually because of pharmaceutical error, an annual rate of about $3.5 billion.

The most frequent kind of pharmaceutical error involves mis-fills. There are three ways by which a mis-fill can occur:

• The wrong drug is dispensed. When a patient unknowingly takes the wrong medication, the negative effects can be two-fold; the medication that was switched with the original prescription can damage your body, and you may also do harm to your body during the lapse in which you are not taking the correct drug.
• The incorrect dosage of the proper medication is given to the patient. This can be very detrimental, as it can lead to a potentially deadly overdose if too much is dispensed. On the other hand, too little medication can also cause problems.
• The prescription packaging or bottle is labeled with the wrong information. Mislabeled prescriptions can cause confusion and put the patient's life in jeopardy if used in conjunction with another conflicting medication or taken with food or drink that should not be consumed while on the drug.