Articles Posted in Common Errors

When people experience medical issues, they will, understandably, rely on healthcare professionals to provide them with appropriate treatment. Individuals should expect that their medical providers quickly and accurately diagnose them and prescribe the correct treatment and medication. When someone suffers injuries after taking the wrong medication or dosage, the provider or pharmacist may be liable under Maryland’s medical malpractice laws. Although mistakes can happen, medical providers have a duty to provide their patients with necessary and appropriate medical care. The failure to provide a patient with correct medication can lead to serious and life-threatening illnesses.

About 20 years ago, the Institute of Medicine released its “To Err is Human” report, highlighting the importance of building a safer health system. However, medication errors continue to be a serious risk for patients throughout Maryland and the United States. As the report suggests, pharmacists play a critical role during the prescribing, dispensing, and administration of medication, and they must take steps to prevent medication errors. A recent news report summarizes some of the most crucial steps pharmacies can take to reduce the likelihood of a Maryland pharmacy:

Organize the pharmacy: The inherent fast-paced and intense nature of pharmacies can result in disorganized and chaotic work spaces. Pharmacists should have a system in place to ensure that patients’ prescriptions and medications do not become lost or misidentified. The Institute for Safe Medication Practices (ISMP) advises that pharmacies use consistent systems, such as bins or baskets, to separate different patients’ prescriptions and medications.

The Institute for Safe Medication Practices (ISMP) is warning pharmacists and medical practitioners about the potentially severe consequences of using abbreviations for drug names. Their recent report, submitted to the National Medication Errors Reporting Program, sheds crucial light onto one way in which patients could be injured by a Maryland pharmacy error—through miscommunications and mix-ups based on drug abbreviations.

For example, according to an article discussing the ISMP’s report, one commonly confusing abbreviation is “tPA,” which refers to “tissue plasminogen activator alteplase (Activase).” In one situation, an urgent order for alteplase for a patient in an intensive care unit (ICU) was sent to the pharmacy. A nurse from the ICU called the pharmacy to ask if the “tPA” was ready, but the pharmacist, who was newly hired and unfamiliar with the abbreviation tPA, thought the request was for “TPN,” or “total parenteral nutrition.” The pharmacist then told the nurse that the drug would be there in a few minutes, since they were currently mixing parenteral nutrition solutions.

Later that day, when the needed alteplase did not arrive, the ICU nurse called the pharmacy again. Another pharmacist answered, saw the urgent order in the database, and began to dispense a dosage of the drug. Unfortunately, in her rush, she forgot to mix the drug according to the protocol for inpatient use and was delayed while re-dispensing and mixing the drug. This delay, since the drug was already delayed due to the abbreviation mix-up earlier, led to the hospital calling a rapid response team for the patient in question.

When a patient takes a prescription to the pharmacy to get it filled, they assume that the medication they are picking up is the one prescribed by their physician. However, that is not always the case. Indeed, each year, there are thousands of Maryland pharmacy errors, many of which result in severe injury or death.

Patients should be vigilant when it comes to double-checking all prescription medication for themselves, as well as for their loved ones. Pharmacy errors can occur in many ways; below is a partial list of some of the more common types of pharmacy errors.

Giving the patient the wrong medication: Perhaps the most common type of pharmacy error is when a pharmacist provides the patient with the wrong medication. These errors are very dangerous because the patient ends up taking a drug that they were not prescribed in an unknown dose. Additionally, the patient is not receiving the medication that they were prescribed, potentially worsening any existing condition.

The issuance and administration of medication can seem routine, but those procedures result in millions of errors, many of which are preventable. In the case of a medication error, a victim may be able to recover compensation if they are able to prove that the provider was negligent and that they suffered harm as a result.

In a medical negligence claim, plaintiff has to show that a defendant healthcare professional owed the plaintiff a duty of care, that the healthcare professional failed to meet the standard of care in acting or failing to act in some way, that the plaintiff was injured because of that failure, and that the healthcare professional’s lack of care caused the plaintiff injuries. Medication error cases can be difficult to prove, particularly because the patient is often already sick and suffering from some disease or condition to begin with. Reliable expert testimony is often crucial in these cases.

Plaintiffs in medication error cases may be able to recover compensation for medical expenses, physical therapy expenses, lost wages, loss of earning capacity, and other damages.