Getting the right dosage and prescription from your doctor is something that you may assume will happen when you visit a doctor’s office. However, when you notice strange signs of pain and discomfort later on after taking your prescription, you could be dealing with a medication error.
Paying attention to how this happens is the first step you should take.
Ignoring your medical history
According to the National Library of Medicine, a doctor may ignore or fail to check your medical history in order to make sure the new drug you are taking will not interfere with your other medicines. If they do not take this step, you could have a serious reaction. This can happen when they are busy with other office workers or leave the room multiple times, which can lead to interruptions in your visit.
Failing to check what they are writing
As a doctor writes a prescription, they may talk to another person or even just fail to double-check what numbers or letters they are using. Since so many drug names sound similar, a small error can leave you with a totally different medication than you actually need.
A wrong number for the dosage is another huge problem, since you may not notice this error until after you fill the prescription and take the medicine.
Forgetting to give instructions
When discussing how to take a certain medicine with you, a doctor needs to give you complete and detailed instructions. If they forget or do not bother to talk to you about special instructions that you need to know, it can impact your health.
Being aware of how overwhelmed or distracted doctors can lead to medication errors is key when dealing with this problem.