There are many points at which physicians could make significant medication errors. Frequently, those errors occur during the initial prescribing process. Physicians overlook contraindications or fail to notice a drug interaction when recommending a new course of treatment to a patient.
Medication errors can also occur during the administration of a medication in a health care setting. However, errors are also possible at the point when treatment concludes. Oversights on the part of the prescribing doctor and a failure to follow up at the end of treatment can lead to poor medical outcomes for the patient.
A poor outcome may lead to allegations of medical malpractice in some cases. What types of medication errors often occur when patients are at the end of their treatment regimen?
The failure to taper the dosage
There are numerous medications that cause both mental and physical dependence in patients. Opioid medications are notorious for causing addiction. Patients need to step down their dosage under the supervision of a medical professional to avoid withdrawals and limit the likelihood of them seeking medication from unregulated sources. There are other medications, including mental health drugs and prescription steroids, that can also cause significant medical harm if patients end treatment abruptly without appropriate medical oversight.
The failure to validate treatment success
Doctors sometimes assume that treatment must have been successful. A reduction in symptoms after taking antibiotics for two weeks could be a sign that the infection is gone. However, in some cases, patients may still be ill and may experience a recurrence of a severe infection when their treatment ends. Health care professionals should take appropriate steps to validate that the patient has actually fully recovered rather than to risk their condition worsening and becoming resistant to treatment because of a physician’s oversights.
Mistakes at the end of a prescription drug regimen can be just as devastating as mistakes during the prescribing stage. Patients and their family members may have grounds for medical malpractice lawsuits after significant and preventable medication errors occur. Seeking legal guidance is a good way to learn more.
