20 Nov The Facts behind Incorrect Drug Prescriptions
Medication errors can affect more than 1.5 million Americans each year. Many of these errors are happening in hospitals, nursing homes, and doctor’s offices. Incorrect drug prescription can be blamed on many things. However, medical malpractice by the prescribing doctor can be attributed to these mistakes.
Why Are Errors in Prescription Drugs?
According to nbcnews.com, there are more than 10,000 marketable drugs and over 300,000 over-the-counter products that can be prescribed to a patient. Many of these drugs have spellings that closely resemble other medication such as Zyrtec and Zantac. All of these medications have differing usage and doses that depend on a vast number of factors. Other reasons for incorrect drug prescriptions include doctor’s bad handwriting, hospital mix-ups, and wrong doses of medication. The Institute of Medicine said they are hoping to have prescriptions written electronically by 2010.
The Statistics of Incorrect Drug Prescriptions
In a 1999 probe, 7,000 deaths were to blame for drug errors. It is reported that drug errors can add more than $5,800 to an average single patient’s hospital bill. These numbers can be mind boggling to many prescription drug users. According to Braun, there are other startling facts concerning incorrect drug prescription and medical malpractice including:
- Drug errors cause more than 770,000 injuries and death each year and cost up to $5.6 million for each hospital.
- Patients who suffer from incorrect drug prescriptions stay 8-12 days longer in hospitals and stays cost between $16,000 and $24,000 in hospital bills.
- A recent study found that about two out of every 100 hospital patients experienced an incorrect drug prescription error.
Rasansky Law firm is committed to being an advocate for individuals who suffer from incorrect drug prescriptions. If you feel that you or a loved one suffered injuries or death due to this medical malpractice, don’t hesitate to fill out our free case evaluation form. Our team will gladly review the facts of your situation.
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