Medication errors pose serious risks to patients and can lead to harmful consequences, ranging from pain and discomfort to life-threatening complications. These errors may occur due to various factors, including negligence on the part of doctors, nurses, hospitals, or pharmacists. Mistakes in prescribing, administering, or dispensing medications can stem from miscommunication, inadequate training, fatigue, distraction, or lack of proper protocols.

For instance, a doctor may prescribe the wrong medication or dosage, a nurse may administer medication to the wrong patient, a hospital may fail to update patient records accurately, or a pharmacist may dispense the incorrect medication. Such errors can have devastating effects on patients' health and well-being. Make sure you have a dedicated medical malpractice lawyer in New York City on your side to claim damages for your medication errors injury or complications.

Read more: New York Medical Malpractice Attorneys Explain Reporting Medication Errors

A 65-year old New York City resident died of a fatal heart attack after being prescribed a deadly combination of drugs by her doctor to treat symptoms of what appeared to be coronavirus. The patient's family says that she was not tested for either heart issues or COVID-19 before being prescribed the malaria drug and an antibiotic.

After President Donald Trump promoted hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin as a treatment for coronavirus, it appears that a lot of doctors have been prescribing these medications despite health organizations, including the American Heart Association, warning about the combo's ability to trigger heart arrhythmia in individuals with heart issues.

Read more: NY Woman With Coronavirus Dies After Prescribed Hydroxychloroquine

According to researchers from Johns Hopkins Medicine in Baltimore, MD, diagnostic mistakes are the most frequent, and most serious, medical error that occurs, and the one which leads to the most medical malpractice lawsuits.

There aren’t exact values as to how many patients are affected, but it‘s estimated that between 40,000 and 80,000 deaths happen in United States hospitals each year. Because of these high values, the Johns Hopkins researchers studied over 11,000 cases from a U.S. medical malpractice claims database to understand which conditions doctors are most likely to misdiagnose.

Read more: Misdiagnosis is the Most Frequent Medical Error

Patients in New York and throughout the country could be exposed to a wide range of medication errors. These mistakes could result in a worsened condition or other negative consequences. However, not all types of errors are accounted for unless there is an adverse event. For instance, many medical offices and hospitals use electronic health records. One problem that can occur is ordering medication for the wrong person.

Read more: Overlooked factors that could lead to a medical error

The National Pharmacy Association has released its quarterly report on patient safety errors among community pharmacists. The three-month period between April and June 2018 has seen a startling 64 percent increase in the number of such errors compared to the previous quarter. Patients in New York will want to know what some of the factors are.

Read more: NPA's quarterly report shows increase in pharmacist errors

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