Prescription errors can lead to injury or even death in some circumstances. Holding accountable those who caused the prescription error is an essential part of both compensating the injured and discouraging careless, reckless, or negligent conduct in the pharmacy.

Prescription ErrorsThere are many types of prescription errors. These include errors in prescribing the incorrect medication, failing to appreciate the ways one medication may interact with another medication, and misdiagnosis of a condition. Prescription errors can occur due to a doctor’s error, a computer error, a miscommunication error, or an error at the pharmacy. This blog post is dedicated to prescription errors that occur at the pharmacy level.

Different Ways Prescription Errors May Occur at the Pharmacy

Any time humans are involved with a process, there is the potential for error. Many people may think filling a prescription is just a matter of putting a few pills in a bottle. However, there are actually many ways prescription errors can occur at a pharmacy, including:

  • Providing an incorrect dosage
  • Putting the wrong medication in the bottle
  • Providing too much medication
  • Providing too little medication
  • Incorrectly labeling in the medication
  • Failing to warn about possible contradictions or side effects
  • Failing to provide proper instructions about how and when to take the medication
  • Providing the prescription with the wrong method of administration, such as providing a liquid instead of pills, or a patch versus an injection

Any of these errors could result in medical complications.

Confusion About Prescription Identity

Many people are surprised to learn that some medications share similar spellings or sound the same when spoken aloud. In fact, there is actually a website dedicated to identifying drugs with similar sounding or similarly spelled names. For example, benazepril, which is commonly used to treat high blood pressure, may be confused with Benadryl, an antihistamine used to treat the symptoms of allergies. Depending on a host of other factors, a mix up between two medications with similar sounding names could have disastrous results.

Mistakes Happen

Like the rest of us, those who fill prescriptions are human. They may be distracted at work because of problems in their home life. They may work under conditions such as low staffing, which results in them rushing to complete their work. Sometimes, a person working to fill prescriptions is just plain incompetent. Whatever the reason, when mistakes happen, the patients suffer.

Have You Been Injured Due to a Prescription Error?

If you or a loved one have suffered illness or injury, or had your condition exacerbated by a prescription error, contact the lawyers at Dennis A. Lopez & Associates. Our practice includes medical malpractice claims. Our attorneys are happy to meet with you to discuss your situation at no cost to you. Contact us to see if your prescription error may establish a legal claim. If you have a case, we may be able to recover past and future medical bills associated with the injury, as well as lost wages for work missed, and compensation for pain and suffering as the result of the prescription error. Call today at (813) 223-1977 to schedule your no obligation consultation.

For More Information

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WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT A MEDICAL MALPRACTICE CLAIM