Georgia Personal injury Blog

When you're prescribed medication, you shouldn't hesitate to obtain the drug and take it as outlined by your medical team.

While it's easy to assume that your doctor and pharmacy are on the same page, mistakes can and do happen every now and again. And if a serious mistake comes into play, there's a chance it could have a negative effect on your health and future well-being.

A study published in JAMA Pediatrics has analyzed the possible link between distracted behavior in nurses and the rate of error. Georgia residents can probably see how distractions in the medical field can lead to serious problems, even injuries and death.

Researchers focused on 257 nurses in pediatric intensive care units and 3,308 patients whom they encountered. Roughly half of the nurses received a call on their phone 10 minutes before administering medication to a patient. Those who were thus distracted had an error rate of 3.7% while those who were uninterrupted made mistakes at a rate of 3.1%. One cannot say for certain, though, if distraction caused the errors.

A third of adults in Georgia and across the U.S. simultaneously take five or more medications at least once a week, according to the American Academy of Family Physicians. This translates to a high risk for medication errors as some drug combinations can create adverse effects. Adverse drug events are known to cause injuries and sometimes death. Below are five tips that medical professionals give to minimize risks.

The first is to use all medications correctly. This means following instructions and never cutting pills without a doctor or pharmacist saying it is safe to do so. The second is to know one's own dosage level. This amount varies with children and adults, the Mayo Clinic says, and it even differs with one's weight and height. The third tip is to be honest and accurate when giving body measurements.

Every year, many Georgia residents are misdiagnosed with medical conditions. While some of these mistakes may be relatively minor and quickly corrected, others may lead to severely worsened health or even death. Across the country, around 12 million people are affected by some type of medical diagnostic error every year, and up to 80,000 people lose their lives as a result of these mistakes. People may receive incorrect medications that cause serious side effects, especially if they do not have the disease in question. Other people may have their complaints of pain and discomfort brushed aside by medical professionals who do not take them seriously.

One of the most serious kinds of medical misdiagnoses is the failure to diagnose a progressive disease like cancer. Because cancer generally grows and worsens with time, early detection and treatment may be key to a successful outcome. Even patients who survive may go through a much more grueling experience if their cancer is not detected until later in its development. In some cases, people went to the doctor and even had tests, but their cancer was not detected due to negligence.