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PHARMACEUTICAL ERROR
It can happen to a patient in the hospital recovery room or even
on the floor after elective surgery. It can happen to a patient
at home moments after picking up a prescription at the local pharmacy.
It can happen after visiting the family practice physician for the
cold that you had been fighting. The truth is, it can happen anywhere,
anytime - a drug overdose or adverse drug reaction and interaction
as a result of health care provider negligence. Drug related adverse
events represent an alarming problem that must be addressed. It
is estimated that as many as 15 percent of hospitalized patients
suffer at least one adverse drug reaction during their hospital
admission, while in a study of more than 30,000 hospital records,
drug complications were found to be the most common cause of injuries
to patients.
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The idea that too much of a good thing can in reality be a bad
thing, is in no other circumstances more true than in the context
of the use and administration of drugs. A drug overdose can be simply
defined as the administration of an excessive dose of a particular
medication. In some cases even the appropriate amount of a particular
drug, or combination of drugs, can have harmful, and sometimes fatal,
consequences for a patient.
Adverse drug reactions and drug interactions represent the negative
consequences of pharmacotherapy. A lawyer representing individuals
suspected of suffering injuries as a result of an adverse drug reaction
or interaction must gain a thorough knowledge of how an adverse
reaction and drug interaction occurs.
Several sources of medical knowledge that you might wish to consult
to gain an understanding of drugs, prescription and nonprescription
alike, and their pharmacologic properties and effects include the
following:
- Physician's Desk Reference in hard copy or on the Internet at
www.pdr.net
- Goodman & Gilman's, The Pharmacologic Basis of Therapeutics
(9th ed. 1996)
- Zimmerman's Complete Guide to Nonprescription Drugs (1993)
- D.S. Tatro, Drug Interaction Facts (Lippincott 1993)
On a day-to-day basis, there are many health care providers who
share in the care and treatment of one patient. From family physician,
the orthopedic specialist, the nurse on the step down floor, and
the nurse practitioner seeing patient for follow-up care, to the
pharmacist on the corner who fills the prescriptions written by
the family physician, it is clear that patients in the next millennium
are likely to be treated by any number of different health care
providers. These "co-managing" health care providers, although differing
in both medical practice and years of experience, owe their patients
a duty of care to protect them from experiencing a drug overdose,
adverse drug reaction or interaction at the hands of a particular
medication. The duty of care owed to a particular patient, by a
particular health care provider, usually depends on the circumstances
presented by the patient's individual medical condition and needs.
In the context of the use and administration of prescription medications,
however, certain duties of care are owed the patient by all health
care providers involved.
It is estimated that as many as 12.5 percent of the prescriptions
filled by outpatient pharmacies are misfilled. With more than 1.5
billion outpatient prescriptions dispensed each year, there is good
reason why pharmacists face increasing liability. If it is accurate
that 12.5 percent of all prescriptions filled are in fact misfilled,
the number of outpatient prescription errors could be as high as
187.5 million annually.
The members of the health care team providing care to the patient
on prescription medications have clear duties to protect the patient
from suffering a drug overdose or an adverse reaction or drug interaction.
The care provided by the health care team must be closely evaluated
on an individual basis when prosecuting a cause on behalf of an
injured individual or the family of an injured party. No stone can
be left unturned. When a breakdown in the management of a patient
on prescription medication occurs, it often leads to disastrous
consequences for the patient. These disasters are avoidable! The
patient has suffered a medical disaster. The lawyer must learn about
the drugs at issue in each case - their pharmacologic and pharmacokinetic
effects and properties, their contraindications for use, proper
dosages, and what the drugs can do to cause the injuries sustained
by the patient.
If you think that you may have been injured by a pharmaceutical
mistake, call me for help.
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Bikers Lawyers 
