Top 4 Causes of Medication Errors

Who wants to experience medication error? Not anyone, definitely. Medication error is defined by the National Center for Biotechnology Information as a preventable incident that could lead to the wrongful use of the medicine either by the healthcare professional or the patient themselves. The common incidences of such errors include wrong dosage, wrong timing, and wrong medicine.

With medication therapy credited as the primary defense against illnesses, infections, and complications from existing diseases, medication error is perceived as a risky occurrence. With inaccurate medication administration, the effects of the medication could complicate a patient’s condition, or worse, can result in irreversible fatality. The risks of medication errors are even higher if there’s no Certified Nurse Aide assisting the patient in their location of care.

To emphasize the high risks of medication errors, let us share with you the following reasons why such errors occur. As experienced staff in providing services for a Home Health Care Agency in Dumfries, Virginia, it’s in our interests that medication errors should not affect the patient.

1. Similar names or packaging
   Some medications have similar-sounding names and almost similar packaging. Without proper medication management, the patient can tend to mix these medicines and mistake these as different ones. As a result, they could take the same pill in a day, which is already overdosing them. The assistance of a nursing aide from a Home Health Care in Virginia can help these patients identify the correct medication to avoid erroneous administration.
2. Uncommonly used or prescribed
   If the medication is not familiar to the patient of their family caregiver, they might have a hard time looking for it. They could even request for a generic alternative without the doctor’s clearance, thinking it’s exactly the same drug. Take note that while generic medications contain similar active ingredients, some illnesses need to comply with specific medicines for their expected results.
3. Contains allergic ingredients
   Some medicines also contain ingredients that could be allergic to patients. If these ingredients are not clarified to the patient early on, they could get an allergic reaction which would be detrimental to their health.
4. Requires testing
   There are also medications that provide increased health risks for patients and are assigned to FDA’s black box warning system. These medications would require testing prior to using to ensure that it will generate the expected result for the patient’s condition.

Medication error is a serious incident that you should not even entertain the possibility of. The health and life of your loved one are at stake. If you have a family member who’s undergoing home treatments for their illnesses, ensure that they’re being assisted by licensed healthcare professionals. These professionals know the accuracy of the medications and you can trust them to administer treatments the right way.

At Authentic Home Healthcare and Nursing Solutions LLC, we provide skilled healthcare support for your patients at home. We believe that recovering or getting treatments at home should not be a factor in receiving quality treatment. When you need our service, feel free to contact us.