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How to Protect Yourself from Dangerous Prescription Drug Errors
How to Protect Yourself from Dangerous Prescription Drug Errors
Source: Side Effects 1/05/2007
According to a report issued in July 2006 by the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of
Sciences, prescription medication errors are among the most common medical mistakes, injuring or
killing at least 1.5 million people a year and incurring at least $3.5 billion a year in extra hospital
costs alone. This was the institute’s second report on the subject, and the committee that compiled
it stated that insufficient progress had been made since its first report, “To Err Is Human,” was
issued in 1999.
“We need a comprehensive approach to reducing these errors that involves not just health care
organizations and federal agencies, but the industry and consumers as well,” said Linda R.
Cronenwett, dean of the School of Nursing at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill and co-
chairwoman of the institute committee.
While consumers can do little to improve drug-prescribing procedures in organizations, they can do
a lot more to protect themselves. Jane Brody’s article in the January 2nd NYT offers excellent
advice on how to protect yourself and your loved ones from such medication errors.
Here are some of Brody’s suggestions:
Know What You Are Taking
Preventing medication mishaps starts with knowing what medications you are taking — or
supposed to be taking — and how they might interact with other drugs, supplements or herbal
remedies you take and even the foods you eat. You can help protect yourself by maintaining a list
of all the drugs you take — prescription and nonprescription, vitamin-mineral supplements and
herbal remedies, including the dosing schedule and amount. Bring this list with you whenever you
visit the doctor and make sure it is reviewed by the health care provider.
Far too many patients leave the doctor’s office or medical clinic with a prescription that borders on
the illegible. They may have been told the category of the drug — antibiotic, for example, or
painkiller — but not its name. And they may have at best a vague memory of how to take it — how
much, when and with what. Rarely are they warned of possible adverse effects and what to do if
they notice no improvement or a downturn in their health.
If you have ever experienced an allergic reaction to a medication, or have a food allergy, be sure to
tell your health care provider before any medication is prescribed.
When you are given a prescription, ask the name of the drug, what it is supposed to do for your
condition, how much to take and how often it should be taken, whether it should be taken with food
or on an empty stomach, what side effects are possible and what effects warrant a prompt call to
the doctor. Also ask how the medication might interact with other remedies you take or foods you
eat. And, of course, write down the answers while you are still in the doctor’s office.
When picking up the prescription, check the name and dosing schedule against what the doctor
told you. If the labels are too small to read, bring a magnifying glass or ask the pharmacist or
someone with better vision to read it to you.
If you have any questions, ask. It is the pharmacist’s responsibility to explain how to take the drug
properly, its side effects and what to do if you experience them. The pharmacist can also provide
written information about the drug.
Many consumers sign a book when they pick up a prescription, not realizing that their signature
means they have received needed information about the drug or that they are waiving their right to
such information.
When patients are too ill to obtain adequate information about their medications, a surrogate —
family member, friend, or, in a hospital, a nurse, social worker or patient advocate — should obtain
it for them.
The Institute of Medicine committee noted that hospitalized patients have a right to have a
surrogate with them whenever they receive medication and are unable to monitor the process
themselves. Many mistakes are made when hospital personnel administer the wrong drug or the
wrong dose, give the drug by the wrong means (intravenously instead of intramuscularly, for
instance) or to the wrong patient.
The administering nurse should always check the patient’s hospital bracelet against the name on
the medication before giving it and should tell the patient the purpose for a drug each time it is
administered.
If you are scheduled for surgery or an invasive exam like a colonoscopy, make sure you ask what
drugs you can or should take preoperatively and which you should stop taking. Aspirin and its over-
the-counter relatives, as well as prescribed blood thinners, can result in uncontrolled bleeding
during such procedures.
Before leaving the hospital, ask for a list of the medications you should be taking at home. Have
the provider go over the list with you and be sure you understand how much of each to take and
how to take it. Again, write it down or have your surrogate write it for you.
Follow Directions
Failure to take medications according to the prescribed directions is one of the most common
reasons for bad outcomes. Sometimes this results from a misunderstanding of dosage schedules.
The label may say “Take one capsule every six hours” but the patient assumes, incorrectly, that
this does not include the hours during sleep. Or the patient, whose native language is Spanish,
may read “once” as 11 o’clock, as it could be interpreted in Spanish, instead of as one time.
It is vitally important to follow warnings about possible drug or food interactions or hazards
operating motorized equipment, including cars, while taking the medication.
Most pharmacies now routinely place yellow warning stickers on medicine vials, and many include
patient information leaflets with the drugs they dispense. It is the consumer’s job to read these and
follow directions like “take with food” or “do not drink alcohol while on this drug.”
Many consumers now check out prescription and alternative remedies on the Internet. This can be
risky because most of this information is posted by lay or commercial sources, not medical experts.
If you use the Web, make sure the information is provided by an official government source, such
as the National Library of Medicine’s MedlinePlus program (www.medlineplus.gov), which provides
easy-to-read drug information and interactive tutorials.
Source: Side Effects 1/05/2007
According to a report issued in July 2006 by the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of
Sciences, prescription medication errors are among the most common medical mistakes, injuring or
killing at least 1.5 million people a year and incurring at least $3.5 billion a year in extra hospital
costs alone. This was the institute’s second report on the subject, and the committee that compiled
it stated that insufficient progress had been made since its first report, “To Err Is Human,” was
issued in 1999.
“We need a comprehensive approach to reducing these errors that involves not just health care
organizations and federal agencies, but the industry and consumers as well,” said Linda R.
Cronenwett, dean of the School of Nursing at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill and co-
chairwoman of the institute committee.
While consumers can do little to improve drug-prescribing procedures in organizations, they can do
a lot more to protect themselves. Jane Brody’s article in the January 2nd NYT offers excellent
advice on how to protect yourself and your loved ones from such medication errors.
Here are some of Brody’s suggestions:
Know What You Are Taking
Preventing medication mishaps starts with knowing what medications you are taking — or
supposed to be taking — and how they might interact with other drugs, supplements or herbal
remedies you take and even the foods you eat. You can help protect yourself by maintaining a list
of all the drugs you take — prescription and nonprescription, vitamin-mineral supplements and
herbal remedies, including the dosing schedule and amount. Bring this list with you whenever you
visit the doctor and make sure it is reviewed by the health care provider.
Far too many patients leave the doctor’s office or medical clinic with a prescription that borders on
the illegible. They may have been told the category of the drug — antibiotic, for example, or
painkiller — but not its name. And they may have at best a vague memory of how to take it — how
much, when and with what. Rarely are they warned of possible adverse effects and what to do if
they notice no improvement or a downturn in their health.
If you have ever experienced an allergic reaction to a medication, or have a food allergy, be sure to
tell your health care provider before any medication is prescribed.
When you are given a prescription, ask the name of the drug, what it is supposed to do for your
condition, how much to take and how often it should be taken, whether it should be taken with food
or on an empty stomach, what side effects are possible and what effects warrant a prompt call to
the doctor. Also ask how the medication might interact with other remedies you take or foods you
eat. And, of course, write down the answers while you are still in the doctor’s office.
When picking up the prescription, check the name and dosing schedule against what the doctor
told you. If the labels are too small to read, bring a magnifying glass or ask the pharmacist or
someone with better vision to read it to you.
If you have any questions, ask. It is the pharmacist’s responsibility to explain how to take the drug
properly, its side effects and what to do if you experience them. The pharmacist can also provide
written information about the drug.
Many consumers sign a book when they pick up a prescription, not realizing that their signature
means they have received needed information about the drug or that they are waiving their right to
such information.
When patients are too ill to obtain adequate information about their medications, a surrogate —
family member, friend, or, in a hospital, a nurse, social worker or patient advocate — should obtain
it for them.
The Institute of Medicine committee noted that hospitalized patients have a right to have a
surrogate with them whenever they receive medication and are unable to monitor the process
themselves. Many mistakes are made when hospital personnel administer the wrong drug or the
wrong dose, give the drug by the wrong means (intravenously instead of intramuscularly, for
instance) or to the wrong patient.
The administering nurse should always check the patient’s hospital bracelet against the name on
the medication before giving it and should tell the patient the purpose for a drug each time it is
administered.
If you are scheduled for surgery or an invasive exam like a colonoscopy, make sure you ask what
drugs you can or should take preoperatively and which you should stop taking. Aspirin and its over-
the-counter relatives, as well as prescribed blood thinners, can result in uncontrolled bleeding
during such procedures.
Before leaving the hospital, ask for a list of the medications you should be taking at home. Have
the provider go over the list with you and be sure you understand how much of each to take and
how to take it. Again, write it down or have your surrogate write it for you.
Follow Directions
Failure to take medications according to the prescribed directions is one of the most common
reasons for bad outcomes. Sometimes this results from a misunderstanding of dosage schedules.
The label may say “Take one capsule every six hours” but the patient assumes, incorrectly, that
this does not include the hours during sleep. Or the patient, whose native language is Spanish,
may read “once” as 11 o’clock, as it could be interpreted in Spanish, instead of as one time.
It is vitally important to follow warnings about possible drug or food interactions or hazards
operating motorized equipment, including cars, while taking the medication.
Most pharmacies now routinely place yellow warning stickers on medicine vials, and many include
patient information leaflets with the drugs they dispense. It is the consumer’s job to read these and
follow directions like “take with food” or “do not drink alcohol while on this drug.”
Many consumers now check out prescription and alternative remedies on the Internet. This can be
risky because most of this information is posted by lay or commercial sources, not medical experts.
If you use the Web, make sure the information is provided by an official government source, such
as the National Library of Medicine’s MedlinePlus program (www.medlineplus.gov), which provides
easy-to-read drug information and interactive tutorials.