Articles Posted in Medication Errors

A forty-year-old army veteran died in Asheville, NC mere days after he and his family moved into a new home from a lethal medication error.While the hospital responsible for his care admitted to the mistake, it refuses to bear any responsibility for the actions that led to his unnecessary and preventable passing. He was admitted to the VA Medical Center for the treatment of an infection and was given four times the ordered dosage of a narcotic for pain control on two different occasions. The results were cardiac arrest and his subsequent death.

Jason Powell Was a Career Military Man

The Powells had just moved to Asheville after Jason received terminal leave in July of 2012. He had served the army for more than twenty years and had just celebrated his retirement. Coming down with symptoms of what he thought was a common flu, he was admitted to the VA Medical Center when he realized something wasn’t right.

The Chicago medical malpractice attorneys of Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers LLC frequently handle cases involving complications that have arisen due to medication errors. While the causes for these errors can vary greatly, one thing remains consistent— nurses are always going to be the last line of defense between an incorrect medication or dosage and the administration of that medication to the patient. Whenever a nurse fails to ensure that a patient is receiving the exact medication and dosage that he or she should be receiving, the incorrect administration of medication occurs, resulting in the potential for serious complications that could be life threatening.

Understanding How Medication Errors Occur Can Help Prevent Them

When a patient is given the wrong medication or an incorrect dosage, the error needs to be traced back to where things initially went wrong. In order for a patient to receive medicine, a doctor must first write a prescription for the medication and indicate a dose and method of administration. This includes how frequently the medication must be provided, at what time during the day and which route it needs to be provided by. The next step is the fulfillment of the prescription by a pharmacist, who reviews the instructions provided by the doctor and then provides the medication in the correct dose.

Medication errors in hospitals and nursing facilities have become a serious concern now that studies have suggested these errors occur at a rate of once a day per patient. The driving factor influencing medication errors may be the quantity of medications being prescribed and administered. On average, patients are prescribed between nine and ten medications, increasing the likelihood that at least one of those medications will be administered incorrectly or interact with another medication being taken. It appears that the solution to this dilemma may be as simple as limiting the amount of medications that any patient is administered during a hospital stay and reevaluating the need for patients to continue taking medications following discharge.

Administering Fewer Medications Has More Benefits than Risks

On first glance, it may seem irresponsible to take patients off of medications that they are taking regularly prior to intake, but medical professionals are beginning to find that the benefits outweigh the risks. There are certain medications that are considered to be a part of a never stop list such as blood pressure medications or medications taken to regulate blood sugar levels, but most other drugs can be evaluated when a patient is admitted to a hospital to determine whether the patient truly needs the medication and if he or she could do without it during a hospital stay. The benefits of eliminating unnecessary medications include the following.

When Roy Rach entered into St. Joseph’s Caretel Inn upon leaving the hospital after receiving treatment for an abnormal heartbeat, he was only supposed to be there for a few days to recover. According to his daughter, he went in alert and happy. When he left the facility, he was on a stretcher, in a diabetic coma. According to state records, Rach’s diabetes went untreated while in St. Joseph’s Caretel Inn.

Unfortunately for his family and for Rach himself, he never recovered from the coma. Just days after Thanksgiving, he passed away. His daughter states that while the hospital may have saved his life, it was his nursing home that ended it.

Not a unique situation