Medication underprescribing and underdosing errors
Each year in the U.S. 7,000 to 9,000 people die due to medication errors. In addition, hundreds of thousands of patents experience, but fail to report an adverse reaction or other complications related to a medication.
There are a variety of reasons that contribute to medication errors, including errors involving dosing. Medication underdosing as well as underprescribing are two such errors that can result in significant negative effects for patients.
Underdosing happens when a doctor writes a prescription for a lower dose of medication than is clinically indicated. Underprescribing happens when there is “an untreated indication according to clinical guidelines.”
Simply put, underdosing and underprescribing means not enough medication or no medication is being provided to the patient to adequately address his or her medical condition or treatment.
What is the result of underdosing and/or underprescribing? These types of medication errors can contribute to “polypharmacy,” or the use of multiple medications to treat a single ailment or condition. Not only does this result in unnecessary drug costs, but patients can experience adverse side effects from mixing medications.
Some common causes contributing to medication underdosing and/or underprescribing include:
- An incomplete or out-of-date medical history
- Illegible handwriting on the part of the doctor
- Failure to properly review a patient’s medical history, including other medications
- Improper filling of a prescription by a pharmacy
Who is at fault?
Underdosing as well as underprescribing can happen due to an error on the part of a doctor, a pharmacist’s error in labeling or dispensing the medication in question, or a nurse’s error in its administration.
A less than optimal dose of a medication can result in a reduction of the efficacy needed to treat a patient’s condition or illness. The impacts of incorrectly medicating a patient can result in severe patient injury or even death.
Should you contact an attorney?
Medical professionals can make mistakes when it comes to prescribing medications to their patients. These types of errors can happen in any medical environment — clinic, doctor’s office, hospital — where healthcare professionals dispense and administer medications.
It only takes a moment on the part of a healthcare professional to make a medication error, but that mistake can have dire, long-term effects for the patient.
The medical malpractice laws in California allow a patient to bring a legal claim against a doctor or other healthcare professional if they have been harmed due to negligence or carelessness on the part of the doctor or other healthcare professional in question.
If you feel that you’ve been a victim of medical negligence due to underdosing or underprescribing of a medication in the course of being treated for a condition or illness, you need to enlist the services of an attorney with experience litigating medical malpractice cases in California.
Scott S. Harris, attorney for medication errors in San Diego, has been helping victims of medical malpractice obtain fair and adequate compensation for their injuries for more than 30 years.