Many Missouri residents rely on medications to control chronic conditions. If they contract another illness or suffer some other sort of injury, they might need a different medication to help them recover. When it comes to medications, pharmacist and doctor errors can have dangerous repercussions for patients.
The potential for errors begins before a Missouri doctor even gets out a prescription pad. If a Missouri doctor does not take the time to review the medications that an individual is currently taking, he or she could prescribe one that has dangerous interactions with the other medications that the individual is taking. In addition, if a proper family history is not taken or reviewed, a prescription could be written for a medication whose side effects could be dangerous for the patient. There is also the possibility that the prescription could be written incorrectly.
Of course, there is still the possibility that something could go wrong even if a doctor does everything right. For those who are not hospitalized, the prescription will need to be filled by a pharmacist. An error in reading the prescription, failing to notice potential drug interactions and giving the wrong dosage to a patient could all result in adverse medical consequences for the patient. Even automated dispensing systems are programmed by human beings, who can make mistakes.
Any number of pharmacist, nurse and/or doctor errors can occur when it comes to getting medications to patients. If you were seriously injured or lost a family member due to a medication mistake, it would be beneficial to talk to an attorney as soon as possible. A medical malpractice case could be appropriate.