When pharmacies make mistakes, lives are put at risk.

Every year, more than 1.5 million Americans are victims of medication errors. These errors occur in hospitals, in pharmacies and in long-term care facilities such as nursing homes. When mistakes are made, patients don’t get better, and sometimes they are injured or killed.

Facts about medication errors

• Medication errors include dispensing the wrong prescription, giving the wrong dosage, or providing the wrong instructions. They also include harmful drug interactions and adverse drug reactions.

• Causes of medication error vary and may include lack of information, illegible handwriting, mathematical error, short-staffing and lack of attention.

• It is estimated that three-percent of pharmacy prescriptions contain mistakes that may cause harm.

• Twenty-percent of medication errors are life-threatening.

• More people die each year from medical mistakes than from car accidents.

• Three percent of hospital patients experience medication errors while hospitalized. Medication errors are more likely to affect intravenous medications than oral medications.

• Patients who are victims of hospital medication errors have longer hospital stays – this means thousands of dollars in additional medical costs.

• The annual expense of treating drug-related injuries occurring in hospitals is $3.5 billion a year.

• Most medication errors are preventable.

Tips to prevent medication mistakes

• Keep a list of prescribed medications, over the counter medicines and all supplements and vitamins that are being taken. Take this list to all doctor appointments and show it to the pharmacist when picking up prescriptions. Keep the list updated.

• Make sure you doctor knows your correct age and weight. These are important for correct dosing.

• Look at your prescription. Before you leave, have the doctor tell you what medication he is prescribing, the dosage and how often you should take it.

• Tell the pharmacist what other drugs or supplements you are taking. Ask about cross-reactions.

• At the pharmacy, look at your medication. Is your name correct? Is the doctor’s name correct? Do the dosage and instructions match what the doctor told you? Do the pills look the same as last time? If anything looks different, talk to the pharmacist.

• Ask the pharmacist about potential side-effects. If you feel anything weird or different, don’t hesitate to call.

If you or a family member is a victim of medication error, you may be entitled to compensation for additional medical costs, pain and suffering, and lost work days caused by the error. Contact the medical malpractice attorneys at the Atlanta-based Kaufman Law office. Call 1-888-WRECK-404 (1-888-973-2540) at any time to schedule a free consultation.