Prescription medication is one of the largest treatment options for medical conditions. Patients trust their doctors to prescribe the right medication for their patient’s illnesses or medical conditions. However, mixups with a diagnosis, prescribed drug or dosage amount can lead to serious consequences.
Here are a few dangers that can occur when a doctor makes a prescription drug error:
Worsening medical conditions
A patient may have been diagnosed with a medical condition that severely impacts their well-being and prescribed medication for their condition. However, the diagnosis of the medical condition may have initially been wrong, leading to the patient receiving the wrong prescription drug. This prescription may fail to treat the medical condition, causing the patient to develop worsening medical conditions. In some cases, a patient’s health will deteriorate too much before it is discovered that they were prescribed the wrong treatment.
Medication side effects
All medications have side effects, which vary depending on the substance and person. These side effects can severely harm people if a doctor makes a mistake when prescribing a drug. For example, a doctor may prescribe a drug without considering what drugs a patient is already prescribed. As a result, the combination of two or more substances could produce harmful side effects. Furthermore, the side effects may worsen a patient’s condition, such as increasing blood pressure for a patient who is already at risk of heart attacks.
Medication toxicity
Doctors will prescribe certain dosages of medication. It is important that doctors prescribe the correct dosage amount for safe medication use. If a patient is prescribed a dosage that is too high, it can lead to medication toxicity. Medication toxicity can lead to harmful and poisonous effects and increase the risk of overdose.
Prescription drug issues can severely harm people. Victims of prescription drug errors may need to learn about their legal options for compensation.
