People in New York taking prescription medications have a lot to keep track of when taking their medicine. From following a proper dosing schedule to avoiding foods that interact dangerously with certain drugs, people need to follow safety steps that start in the doctor’s office and pharmacy.
When a doctor prescribes a medicine, the patient should ask questions. An understanding of side effects, expected results and the duration for taking the drug should be obtained. The doctor should also be asked to write the reason for the medication on the prescription instructions. This information might enable a pharmacist to spot possible mistakes when filling the prescription.
Additionally, a patient should request that the doctor provide a printout with dosing instructions and the name of the drug. The patient should then compare this information to the instructions on the container received from the pharmacy. Any discrepancies should be resolved to ensure safety. Using the same pharmacy every time presents another tactic for limiting medication errors. This allows the pharmacist to track all of the medications that a person is taking and increases the chances of a problem being caught before the person takes something in error.
When people apply best practices to medication management, they could help protect themselves from drug interactions and side effects. Illness and injury, however, could inhibit a person’s ability to monitor medications. When a health care provider administers medication, mistakes might become grounds for a medical malpractice lawsuit. An attorney who represents plaintiffs in malpractice cases might be able to evaluate the incident to see if it meets the standards for litigation. To build a case, the attorney may be able to collect testimony from independent medical experts and document the ill effects suffered by a medical error victim.
