How Dangerous Are Medication Errors?

Every year in the United States of America, there are roughly 20,000 medical malpractice suits filed nationwide. Of course, some of these are frivolous suits and are dismissed quickly, sometimes through summary judgment. However, the bulk of these cases are very legitimate and end up settling. Even scarier to think about is that most medical injuries do not even result in a malpractice suit. Only a small percentage of people end up filing.

Medication errors are the most prevalent form of medical error in the country. These errors harm around 1.3 million Americans every single year. If you or someone you love has been a victim of a medication error, you may have a malpractice suit on your hands. It’s a good idea to get in contact with an experienced medical malpractice lawyer like the attorneys at Thomas Law Offices quickly.

These errors are unfortunately very common, and they can be very serious.

What Constitutes a Medication Error?

Not every side effect a person suffers from medication is considered an error. It’s a fact of medicine that many medications cause adverse effects. A true medical error is defined as a preventable event that causes or leads to patient harm while the medication is in the control of a healthcare professional, patient, or consumer.

So, a medical error goes beyond a nurse who may give a patient the wrong drug, or too much of a drug. It can also include a patient suffering injury at home after taking the medication.

Prescribing Errors

This is when the doctor simply writes the wrong medication or administers an incorrect dosage. It can also happen when a doctor fails to account for multi-drug interactions or a patient’s allergies—for example, giving someone penicillin when they’re allergic to the drug.

Transcribing Errors

This type of medication error happens when a pharmacist, nurse, or any member of the medical staff misreads or incorrectly submits bad details into the system. If a medical professional submits the wrong prescription into the medical record or dispensing system, it classifies as a true error.

Dispensing Error

Dispensing errors are a lot more common than people may realize. These happen when the pharmacy provides the wrong drug, or the right drug at the wrong strength. It can also happen when a doctor or nurse gives you the wrong drug at the hospital while in their immediate care.

Administering Error

At their highest average rates, in-care administering errors account for 25% of all drug administration. This means that the likelihood of being a victim of a medication error while in the hospital is 1 in 4. A quarter of patients, as the high-water mark, are given the wrong meds, too high a dose, or medication at the wrong time.

The Scale and Severity of the Danger

The issue with medical errors is that it’s hard to overstate just how dangerous they can be. Numerous studies completed on healthcare paint a grim picture. Hundreds of thousands of people suffer from adverse drug effects every single year. Sadly, thousands of those cases were preventable medication errors caused by medical professionals.

In tragic cases, these errors can lead to death. Severe allergic reactions, combination reactions, or just the body shutting down—there is very real danger involved with the drugs that we all believe are meant to heal us.

The Broader Impact on Healthcare Systems

The immediate physical toll that a medication error can take on a person is tremendous for that individual. For the healthcare industry at large, however, the impact is immense. There is no precise data on how many medical professionals are fired or disciplined every year due to medication errors. However, the monetary data speaks for itself. These errors cost the healthcare industry $20 to $40 billion annually, and it’s been that way for decades.

The U.S. healthcare industry pays out more than the entire GDP of some nations, all for healthcare errors and settling medical malpractice and wrongful death suits.

Furthermore, these mistakes erode public trust in medical professionals. The hospital or doctor’s office is supposed to be a place you go to for healing. It’s not supposed to be a crapshoot where you gamble with your health. Many people who are injured by medication errors lose all faith and never return to a doctor.

Why So Many Mistakes Are Made

Not to give medical professionals any cover here for their mistakes, but the system is entirely overwhelmed. The days of the small doctor’s office are long gone. Now, we have large hospitals, most of which sit in populous areas of towns, counties, and cities. America also has an overwhelming amount of sick people suffering from being overweight, having diabetes, heart disease, etc. Larger hospitals are flooded with patients, and even a normal Tuesday becomes a triage factory line.

Diagnoses are made at a fast pace, and treatments are given out quickly to make room for the next patients on the list. Couple this with staff shortages, and you have a recipe for disaster. Computers and digital records make things cleaner, but not necessarily easier.

Seeking Justice and Accountability

Any time a medication mistake occurs due to carelessness, recklessness, or any type of human error, you have a case of medical malpractice on your hands. Contrary to popular belief, you don’t need something like malicious intent or a “doctor drunk on duty” in order to have a case. As a patient, it is implicit that you are protected under the care of medical professionals. You are under their practice. If you are failed in any way and experience a medical error, that is the definition of “malpractice.”

Just understand that this isn’t a fight you’re likely to win alone. With the industry hemorrhaging tens of billions every year, they’re more than willing to fight to keep more of that money. By yourself, you’re likely to be bullied and bowled over by multi-billion-dollar corporations and their expensive lawyers. The best thing you can possibly do for yourself is to obtain a qualified medical malpractice lawyer to assist in your case.