January 9, 2014
Long-term care facilities that look after elderly citizens are responsible for protecting the health and safety of their patients. Too often though, errors and negligence occur, especially in distributing medications. These types of medication errors can leave patients seriously injured. The North Carolina Drug Injury Lawyers with HensonFuerst explain one study conducted over a two-year period identified 32,176 medication errors at the nursing home facilities it studied.
The study was published by the U.S. National Library of Medicine’s National Institute of Health and used several testing methods to determine the level of harm done to each patient by the particular types of medication errors that were reported. The team discovered errors in the use of opioid medications presented significantly higher risks of harm to patients than non-opioid, analgesic medications.
Researchers found opioid medication errors had higher rates of mistakes in dosages or administration, and increased chances of errors in giving patients the correct medication.
These findings leave many citizens wondering what they can do to help avoid being the victim of a medication error.
HensonFuerst’s team of North Carolina Personal Injury Lawyers suggest individuals stay safe by asking their physicians any questions they may have regarding new drugs they have been prescribed, prior to beginning a medication regimen. Creating awareness about the importance of better communication among medical staff will also reduce the chances of medication errors.
