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How to Avoid Medication Errors
Medications are powerful. When taken correctly, they can fight infections, relieve headaches and stop heart attacks. But medication errors can occur, and if they do, a drug that is healing can become harmful.
Medication errors can happen for many reasons. The pharmacy may misread a hand-written prescription and dispense the wrong drug or dose; a patient could grab the wrong bottle or chew a table meant to be swallowed; or there could be a side effect from the combination of a prescription drug and an herbal supplement.
After a medication error is discovered, patients often say they thought something was wrong but didn't want to say anything. Using your voice and asking questions is one of your most important safety measures. Never be afraid to speak up. It's YOUR health.
At the doctor's office
Make sure your doctor is aware of your allergies, your complete medical history, chronic medical conditions, such as heart disease or diabetes, recent lab or test results, any over-the-counter or herbal supplements you are taking.
When your doctor prescribes a medication, ask:
- What is the name of the medication? Does it have more than one name?
- Why am I taking this medication?
- What are the possible side effects?
- How long should I take this medication?
- Are there special instructions, such as taking it with food?
Write the answers down and check them against the label and leaflet that accompany your medication when you pick it up at the pharmacy. Differences are clues there may be a mistake. If your prescription is handwritten, check it for readability BEFORE leaving the doctor's office. Many drug names sound alike and look similar but treat different conditions.
At the pharmacy
Check the following:
- Is your name on the label?
- Read the information leaflet that comes with your prescription. Does this medication treat the condition you have?
- Compare the drug name on the label with the medication name your doctor gave you.
- If this is a refill, does the medication look different or is the cost different from before?
- Make sure the pharmacist is aware of all medications you are taking, including over-the-counter, herbal and vitamin products. If possible, have all your prescriptions filled at one pharmacy. This will make possible drug interactions easier to avoid.
- Clarify dosing schedules. For example, does "take four times daily" mean take four times during waking hours or four times spaced evenly over 24 hours?
- When you have questions about your prescription, ask to speak to the pharmacist.
At home:
- Take medications as prescribed. Never double dose in hopes of getting well faster or stop medication prematurely because you feel better.
- Do not take more than one medication that acts in the same way unless instructed to by your doctor. For example, aspirin is a blood thinner so it should not be taken with other blood thinners, such as warfarin (Coumadin). This is also true with herbal preparations. St. John's wort and antidepressants should not be taken together as they both can affect the same chemicals in the brain.
- When taking over-the-counter preparations, make sure not to combine products with the same active ingredients. For example, many cold preparations contain acetaminophen (Tylenol, Tempra, Liquiprin, Panadol) or ibuprofen (Motrin, Advil). If you double up on more than one preparation with the same ingredients, you could overdose.
Source: Journal of Patient Safety, June 2005