Essay: Medication Errors

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Sample Essay – Medication Errors 

Words 1,174

This essay discusses medication errors committed by doctors and nurses. Medication errors committed by doctors, nurses, and other health care professionals are a major problem. Prescribing the wrong type of drug, ordering an improper dose, giving a patient a drug that he or she is allergic to, or combining medications that are incompatible, can lead to deadly consequences.

Medication errors committed by doctors, nurses, and other health care professionals are a major problem. Prescribing the wrong type of drug, ordering an improper dose, giving a patient a drug that he or she is allergic to, or combining medications that are incompatible, can lead to deadly consequences.

A report issued by the National Academy of Science’s Institute of Medicine said that medical errors comprise one of the nation’s leading causes of death and injury.

In hospitals alone, the report said, research suggests that medical errors kill 44,000 to 98,000 people a year. Even using the lower estimate, more people die from medical mistakes each year than from highway accidents.

Studies indicate that 57% of medication errors result in “adverse outcomes” (death or serious illness).

Statistics reveal that the average doctor commits four medication errors for every 1,000 prescriptions written. Some typical medication mistakes include failing to adjust dosages due to a decline in the patient’s kidney or liver function, failing to inquire about the patient’s history of drug allergies, transcribing the wrong drug name on the prescription pad, and calculating the wrong dose for the patient’s physical and medical condition.

Most medication errors occur because doctors simply fail to educate themselves about the proper use of modern prescription drugs.

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