Preventing Medical Errors

Avoiding Medication Mistakes

Medication errors are one of the most common medical errors. You can help avoid them if you understand the medications you are supposed to be taking and how you should take them.

Keep these tips in mind when you are prescribed medication:

• If the color, shape, or size of a medication you have been taking changes, be sure to ask about this before taking the new medication and be sure you receive an explanation that you trust.
• Take all your medications (including supplements and herbal therapies) with you to all appointments and discuss any questions you have about any new prescriptions you may need.
• If you have medication allergies be sure that anyone giving you a new medication is aware of that allergy. Ask whether this medication might be something a person with your allergy should not take. For example, you may have an allergy to sulfa drugs (a kind of antibiotic). This may mean that you are also allergic to some diuretics, as well as some medications to treat diabetes.
• Have your doctor or pharmacist explain how to use the medication correctly and if there are other foods, medications, or activities you should avoid while using it.
• Ask your doctor or pharmacist about possible side effects to expect and which ones are serious.
• If your doctor writes a prescription for you, make sure you can read it. If not, your pharmacist might not be able to either. Make sure it is the same one the doctor told you they were going to use.
• If a medication is being renewed, may sure it is the same dose as your have now.

Avoiding Diagnostic Mistakes

Problems with diagnosis are another kind of error that you can help your doctors avoid. Even experienced doctors can forget to think of a diagnosis under some circumstances. If you think you know what might be wrong with you, insist that the doctor clearly explains what evidence they have that makes that diagnosis unlikely.

One of the most common kind of medical errors is called “premature closure.” This occurs when doctors come to a firm conclusion before they have considered all of the alternatives—even when one of these alternatives is the correct diagnosis.

Even the best and most experienced doctors are at risk for premature closure, and experience with human nature tells us that it can be very difficult for someone who has made his mind up firmly to change it easily. If the doctor offers a diagnosis that seems unlikely to you, you can help prevent error by asking the doctor:

• What other alternative diagnoses were considered
• What tests or other evidence helped you choose among them
• Whether further testing should be done
• Write down what you discussed and answers to any questions you have

A uniquely avoidable error is when doctors or nurses misidentify you as a different person and try to give you the treatment intended for that person. Be sure you know what treatments or tests you are expected to receive. If you think something unexpected is being done to you, be sure to confirm that this is what your doctor intended for you. Many care facilities will verify your name and birthdate when they approach you.