True or false? A trip to the doctor’s is guaranteed to make you feel better.
The answer is false, unfortunately, as all-too-common issues like medical errors can send patients home feeling worse than when they entered – or, make them unable to leave at all.
Medical errors are the third leading cause of death in the United States, and refer to a range of mistakes made in health care settings including incorrect diagnosis, incorrect dispensing of medications and problems in surgery
Diagnostic errors refer to mistakes made when diagnosing a patient’s condition or ailment. This can include an incorrect diagnosis, such as a doctor mistaking the patient’s condition for something it is not, or a missed diagnosis, such as a doctor neglecting or ignoring signs of a problem.
“While all medical errors are concerning, diagnostic errors stand out as particularly alarming due to their high prevalence and severe consequences,” says John Fitch, an Ohio-based personal injury lawyer and founder of The Fitch Law Firm, which recently led and invested in an analysis on medical errors in the U.S. health care system.
Medication errors
Medication errors refer to mistakes in the prescription medication process. Some examples of medication errors include:
- Your doctor writes you an incorrect prescription, such as writing down the wrong medication or the wrong dose.
- Your doctor writes you a correct prescription, but puts another patient’s name on it – or vice versa.
- Your pharmacist dispenses you an incorrect prescription.
- Your pharmacist dispenses you another patient’s prescription.
Medication errors are common – according to The Fitch Law Firm’s report, over 100,000 medication errors occur each year – and can have lethal consequences.
“Medication errors can be particularly worrisome because they can go unnoticed until it is too late,” Fitch says. “A single mistake in dosage or drug interaction can result in an overdose, allergic reaction, organ failure and even fatalities in some
