In the age of high-tech medicine and information readily available at the drop of a hat, it’s strange to think that one oversight by a medical practitioner could lead to a dangerous or deadly outcome. Drug interactions are one incident that can lead to catastrophic effects for patients. Many of these are fully preventable if prescribing practitioners and pharmacists take the time to closely review every patient’s medications.
One issue that sometimes occurs is that practitioners may not have a comprehensive list of the patient’s medications. Electronic medical records (EMR) should prevent this from happening because they theoretically combine the patient’s information into one location.
Complex medical history can increase difficulty
Unfortunately, not all providers are tied together with the same EMR system. In those cases, the pharmacy may be the entity with the most comprehensive list, but that’s only the case if the patient always fills their prescriptions at the same pharmacy.
Patients who have a complex medical history or chronic conditions may have multiple specialists and providers handling their care. This makes it critical that those providers work as a team to offer continuity of care, which is particularly important when medications used for one condition can interact with medications used for another condition.
Any patient who suffers an unexpected drug interaction that was the result of a medical professional’s lack of oversight should learn about their options for handling the situation. This may include seeking compensation through a lawsuit, which necessitates the assistance of someone who’s familiar with these matters.
