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Can you minimize the risk of a prescription error?

Medication errors happen far too often in the United States. According to the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI), as many as 9,000 people in this country die every year due to medication errors and hundreds of thousands more suffer lesser injuries.

Want to know something even scarier? Almost half of those mistakes come from the hands of doctors, not pharmacists or nurses. Pharmacists and nurses undoubtedly catch many ordering mistakes made by physicians and prevent more injuries from occurring all the time. Doctors  prescribe the wrong dose or frequency, the entire wrong medication or the wrong method of delivery all the time.

So, what can you do to protect yourself? Below are some suggestions

  1. Make sure your doctor and your pharmacist has an updated list of your medications.
  2. Make certain that both the doctor and pharmacist have a list of your allergies.
  3. If your doctor prescribes something new or changes the dosage of one of your current medications, ask why. Find out what potential side effects you may experience.
  4. Ask the doctor to explain any new prescription to you, including the dose and frequency. Make sure that what is written on your prescription matches.
  5. Make sure that you review the notes about your visit and that they reflect what you were told and what is on your prescription.

Medication errors can make victims very sick or even kill them. If you were injured due to a medication error or your loved one died as a result of one, you may have a legal right to compensation. Find out more about how we can help you pursue a measure of justice.

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