How Incorrect Dosage Occurs
How Incorrect Dosage Occurs
Between physicians and pharmacists, there is a real and dangerous possibility that a mistake may be made in a person’s prescription. Incorrect dosing, which effects how much medication a person takes either by the concentration of the pills or the usage instructions, can produce extremely hazardous situations for a patient’s health. There are several ways this may occur, each of which illustrating a damaging example of how the healthcare industry can fail its patients in their time of need.
One excuse that may be commonly cited when a pharmacist gives a patient the wrong prescription is a misreading of the dosage in units of measurement. As milligrams and micrograms, 1,000 times different in concentration, are relatively similarly abbreviated, pharmacists may give patients either extreme overdoses or fairly useless amounts of medication. Considering that this problem may occur without any potential oversight from doctors or nurses, a pharmacist can be held directly responsible for these horrific errors.
Another fairly common problem when producing the correct dosage is the miscalculation of drugs according to standards for adults and children. With significant smaller, less developed bodies, children are strongly affected by medication. When a child is given a dosage meant for an adult, the result can be a severe overdose, potentially leading to irreparable damages to that child’s internal systems.
Although many consider overdose to be the greatest issue facing patients in terms of incorrect dosage, an insufficient amount of medication may prove equally destructive, especially in dire circumstances. If a doctor prescribes amounts that are too low during an emergency situation, the drugs may be entirely ineffective. This can allow a patient’s health to deteriorate even further, and any conditions or injuries may progress to more extreme levels of damage.
To learn more about a patient’s rights if a dosage amount is incorrect, contact a medical malpractice attorney.
