The 3 Most Common Medication Errors in Nursing Homes

 Posted on July 28, 2023 in Medication Errors

Medication errors in any type of medical facility can present a serious safety concern. While younger and healthier people may be better able to withstand minor errors in medication, the ill and elderly people who make up Chicago’s nursing home population can suffer serious harm after even a single mistake. While a younger and healthier person can often notice and speak up for themselves if they are about to be given the wrong medication, the average nursing home resident is unlikely to become aware of the error on their own. Nursing homes must take their duty to comply with industry standards for the protection of the elderly very seriously, or serious harm can come to a resident. If you have noticed changes in your elderly loved ones’ behavior or health, or if they have suffered an unexplained adverse health event, they may have been injured due to a medication error. An attorney can help you investigate further to determine whether your loved one may be owed compensation. 

Top 3 Dangerous Medication Mistakes in Skilled Nursing Facilities

Medication errors can happen in a number of ways, from a staff member mixing up two residents’ medications to abusive overmedication as a means of chemical restraint. Some of the most common types of medication errors in nursing homes include: 

• Dose omission - Some medications must be taken on schedule and consistently in order to have the desired effect. In an understaffed nursing home, it can be easy for the staff to sometimes miss giving a resident a needed dose. Missing a dose occasionally may not be a problem for most seniors, but when doses are consistently missed it could mean that the medication is not serving its purpose. 

• Overdose - Busy staff can easily pull up the wrong dosage of medication, or fail to notice that a specific patient is supposed to get a lower dosage than the amount of medication that comes in a vial. Overmedication can make seniors more vulnerable to falls or other injuries. 

• Wrong patient - Nursing home staff may inadvertently give Patient A a medication meant for Patient B. This can become a major concern if Patients A and B have opposite health issues. For example, if Patient A has high blood pressure and Patient B has low blood pressure, then giving them each other’s blood pressure medication could lead to a serious adverse health event. 

Any medication error in a nursing home has the potential to have serious consequences for a resident whose health is already poor. 

Contact a Chicago Nursing Home Negligence Attorney

Schwartz Injury Law is committed to helping nursing home residents who have been harmed due to a medication error. Our experienced Chicago nursing home negligence lawyers will do all we can to help your loved one recover any compensation they are owed. To begin with a complimentary consultation, please call us at 312-535-4625. 

Source: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2464957/