Drug errors

[Becky]

Drug errors are mistakes made by doctors, health care practitioners, pharmacists, and patients when drugs are prescribed, given, taken, or stored. Drug errors can make people ill and allow diseases to worsen. In the United States, drug errors are estimated to cost the health care system up to billion (depending on definitions) every year. (See also Overview of Drugs.)
Drug errors may be caused by the following:

People become confused and take drugs incorrectly.
Doctors choose the wrong drug or write a prescription for the wrong dose.
Pharmacists incorrectly read the prescription or the drug container and give the wrong drug or dose.
Caregivers incorrectly read the label of the drug container and give the wrong drug or dose.
Caregivers give a drug to the wrong person.
The pharmacist or person incorrectly stores the drug, weakening the drug’s strength.
People use an expired drug.
People take a drug with food when the drug is best absorbed on an empty stomach, or without food when food is needed to prevent side effects.

Drug errors most commonly result from people’s confusion about when and how to take drugs, causing them to take the wrong drug or dose. Common reasons for confusion include people putting more than one kind of medication in a single bottle, worn-off instructions on the medication bottle, not understanding the instructions on a medication bottle, having more than one bottle of the same medication, and having so many bottles of medications that people become unsure which one to take when (and which ones have already been taken).