Our medical malpractice attorneys are disappointed by a new study confirming that technology is not doing its part to reduce harmful medication errors. The risk of error for prescriptions that are electronically sent to pharmacies appears to be the same as the error rate for handwritten prescriptions. Electronic prescriptions were initially expected to lower health-care costs and reduce preventable medical mistakes by eliminating common problems such as illegible physician handwriting. Unfortunately, electronic health records and computerized prescribing methods are not producing the anticipated benefits.
Bloomberg is reporting the latest e-prescription research, which shows that nearly 12 percent of all computer-generated prescriptions contain some sort of error. The results are based on a study of 3,850 electronically filed prescriptions sent to three different pharmacy chains. More than 450 of these prescriptions contained at least one mistake, and more than 150 of these mistakes had the potential to cause a patient harm. This rate is consistent with the error rate for prescriptions that are written by hand, indicating that pharmacy patients face a serious risk of harm, regardless of the way their prescriptions are filled.
Although different medication errors were associated with different electronic prescribing systems, one of the most common errors in the study included the omission of important information, such as dosage instructions and information on how long a patient should use the drug. Improper abbreviations were also reported, along with clinical errors in the choice of treatment.
With physicians writing more than 3 billion prescriptions every year, the risk that a patient will be harmed by a preventable medical error is significant. According to the study, 385 million prescription errors could potentially happen each year, and approximately 128 of them could cause patients serious harm.
Because the safety benefits of electronic records falling short of expectations, we believe that more needs to be done in order to protect patient safety. A large number of prescription medication mistakes could be avoided with software improvements and other advanced computer programming additions. Experts have also recommended other preventative strategies such as a "forcing function" that would not allow a prescription to be filled without all of the required information.
Patients harmed by a preventable medical mistake can seek compensation through a medical malpractice lawsuit. Doctors and pharmacies have a duty to protect patient safety and are liable for injuries caused by pharmacy errors. Many of these errors cause serious side effects or even life-threatening conditions, and injured patients may be able to recover for medical care, loss of earnings due to the injury, or loss of enjoyment of life. A wrongful death claim is also possible in pharmaceutical prescription drug error cases.
Generally, pharmacies have a legal responsibility to exercise ordinary care when filling patient prescriptions. Due to the fatal consequences that may result from a pharmacy prescription error, ordinary care may require extreme care in some circumstances. Illinois courts have held that consumers usually lack particular knowledge of the numerous medications they are prescribed, and reasonably rely on doctors and pharmacists to have the kind of superior knowledge and skill that the law requires. When patients are harmed by a preventable pharmacy error, an experienced medical malpractice attorney can help them recover for their injuries.
