Did you know that more than half of U.S. adults take prescription medication in any given week? Additionally, more than 10% take at least five different medications. Unfortunately, each year, over 700,000 Americans end up in the hospital due to bad pharmaceutical errors.

Steps to Prevent Medication Errors

Few people know that it’s even possible for your pharmacy to give you a drug that was meant for somebody else, or that unclear handwriting can cause a pharmacist to provide the wrong medicine. To help avoid this and other pharmaceutical errors, here are several safeguards:

1. When getting a new prescription, ask your doctor the name of the drug, what it does and the dosage. Ask how often and when you’re supposed to take it. Write it down and follow the directions precisely.
2. Learn everything you can about your medicine. Ask your doctor or pharmacist for written information you can understand, or look up the drugs online.
3. Read the prescription label to make sure the medication name and dosage are what your doctor prescribed. Do this BEFORE leaving the pharmacy. If you have questions, ask the pharmacist.
4. Be strict with your medicine schedule. Don’t take more or less than your doctor directed, and don’t stop taking the medicine without checking with your doctor first.
5. Know the side effects your medicine is capable of causing. Call your doctor right away if you begin to feel strange or sick after beginning a new prescription.
6. Keep medicine in its original container and never take medicine in the dark. Always look to make sure you’re taking the correct drug.
7. Make sure your doctors and pharmacist know everything you are taking, including prescriptions and over-the-counter drugs, herbs and vitamins. Alert them to your known allergies.

Contact Us Today

If you feel you’re the victim of pharmacy negligence or medical malpractice, contact us today. We offer a free telephone, online or in person consultation. Contact us to schedule your appointment. We will welcome you to one of our law offices, or we can visit you in your hospital or home location. Our Santa Rosa and Sacramento attorneys will listen to you, consider the facts and offer preliminary advice about how to pursue the maximum available compensation for your injuries and losses.