Monitor Meds Given in Hospital for Errors

Frighteningly, the longer a patient stays in a hospital, the higher
the risk that they will be victims of a preventable medical error.

If someone is in the hospital for any length of time, chances are
they may be the victim of a medication error; one that could have been
prevented in the first place. This is the conclusion of a study done by
the Institute of Medicine. Many Las Vegas personal injury attorneys have seen instances of medication errors and have assisted their clients to obtain a just settlement.

It appears that at least 1.5 million preventable injuries happen
each and every year due to medication mishaps, with over 400,000
injuries involving those in a hospital setting. It should come as no
surprise that to rectify these errors there is a significant cost of
close to $3.5 billion. Despite what the Institute of Medicine found,
there is a good chance that the numbers they used for their study are a
great deal lower than reality, as many medication mistakes and their
consequences aren’t reported. Las Vegas personal injury attorneys
have handled inquiries from people who weren’t sure they were victims
of a medication error and didn’t know if they needed to report it or
pursue it.

Medication errors may take place anywhere in a hospital, but
typically the first place they may happen is when admitting non medical
emergency patients. On admission, patients are asked about their full
medication history but many don’t provide it, either because they are
confused and scared or they don’t want to reveal the medications they
take. They may also fail to mention allergies.

Unfortunately, if a full and correct drug history is not
forthcoming, the potential for errors multiplies as the information
provided, or not provided, makes its way through the hospital system
for clarification, and to the pharmacy and the doctor who will order
home meds. Add to this mixture other medications prescribed in the
hospital taken in addition to home meds and at least four things may
happen: someone is given the wrong medication, the wrong frequency of
dose occurs, the wrong dose is given, or the drug is omitted and then
given too close together when the mistake is realized.

Some of the errors don’t have a serious effect on the patient, in
other words won’t cause discomfort or “clinical deterioration.”
However, depending on the drug given or not given and what it is mixed
with it, there may be other consequences that do cause moderate to
severe discomfort and medical deterioration. In a case where the
medication negligence of another person causes injury or death, a Las Vegas personal injury should be consulted.

The figures tend to speak for themselves, and the Institute of
Medicine found that just about 53 percent of hospital patients had at
least one thing go wrong with their medications. Generally speaking,
the most common error was forgetting to give a patient the medication
they used regularly. Obviously there are serious and fatal errors made
due to the negligence of health care professionals.

In cases like this where a patient has been the victim of a medication error, it is best to contact an experienced Las Vegas personal injury attorney
and discuss the case. Knowing what rights a patient has while in the
care of hospital staff or other medical professionals is crucial.

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