What can happen if you give someone the wrong medication?
What can happen if you give someone the wrong medication?
Dispensing the wrong drug can cause great harm Missing a dose of a drug due to a nurse’s failure to administer it could result in the failure of the patient’s entire treatment regimen. The immediate medical consequences of medication errors might include the formation of blood clots or a failed surgical procedure.
What happens if a doctor gives you the wrong medication?
If a doctor, nurse, or other healthcare professional gave you the wrong medication, you may have a medical malpractice lawsuit on your hands. Whether you received a HAM drug or another type of medication that was incorrect, the effects can range from minor to fatal.
What should I do if I have a drug error?
Next step: Contact the physician and let her know about the error. If the administered dose was considerably higher than the ordered dose, you may have to consider an antidote to reverse the potentially harmful effects of the overdose. You’ll probably also have to monitor your patient’s vital signs and I&O more carefully over the next few hours.
What is the definition of a medication error?
The National Patient Safety Agency’s (NPSA) definition of medication errors is: “Patient safety incidents involving medicines in which there has been an error in the process of prescribing, dispensing, preparing, administering, monitoring, or providing medicine advice, regardless of whether any harm occurred”.
Why are nurses most likely to make medication errors?
In March 2017 the World Health Organization launched a Global Patient Safety Challenge on Medication Safety with the goal to reduce medication associated harm in all countries by 50% over the next five years by addressing weaknesses in systems that lead to medication errors. 2. Nurses are the most exposed to making medication errors
What should I do if my doctor prescribed the wrong medication?
In such situations, the doctor may not be liable at all for the patient’s injury. If you believe that you were prescribed the wrong medication, you should consult with a medical malpractice attorney as early as possible. Medical malpractice claims, like all lawsuits, are subject to a strict filing deadline known as a statute of limitations.
What happens when a Pharmacy fills the wrong prescription?
The errors usually occur when the wrong medicine is prescribed, the pharmacy fills the prescription with the incorrect medication or the wrong dosage of the correct prescription is dispensed. Many times, the effects of the wrong medication are minor.
What happens when you make a medication error?
Put the patient first You discover you have made serious medication error, while you are half-way through administering the drug, at some later stage or when a colleague finds the error. You immediately experience a physical and psychological stress response.
How to deal with a drug error as a nurse?
As nurses, we strive to give the best possible care to each and every one of our patients, and that does not include giving them a medication that may possibly cause harm. Your first step is to swallow your pride and convert that sinking feeling into action. If the drug is still infusing—if it was an IV dose,…