Many New Jersey residents who take multiple doses of various types of medications daily or who give them to someone else understand how complicated this can be. In fact, thousands of people are harmed each year because they took their medications incorrectly or skipped them altogether.
One of the most important things to do when someone gets a new prescription is to double check the medication to make sure it is correct. In many instances, a pharmacist may not have read a physician’s handwriting correctly, or the medicine may have been prescribed in a pill form but was accidentally prepared as a liquid. People who have any doubts about their medicine may benefit by expressing their doubts to the pharmacist or a pharmacy employee before paying for it.
It is also a good idea for patients to carefully read and understand the dosage instructions, ensure the medicine is working and look for any adverse affects. If the dosage instructions seem complicated, the patient might consider contacting the doctor or pharmacist for clarification. This is important because nearly half of people on prescription medications cannot understand the medication label instructions, according to studies.
Further, people who take multiple prescription medications prescribed by different doctors may wish to be especially careful because some medicines could cause adverse drug reactions when taken together. For this reason, keeping a running list of all a patient’s medications and showing the list to the patient’s doctors will lessen the chances of a harmful side affect from occurring.
People who suffer a serious adverse drug reaction due to the actions of a negligent doctor or pharmacist might consider pursuing damages via a medical malpractice lawsuit. Because these types of claims are complex, the patient might want to have the assistance of counsel throughout the process.
Source: Cure Today, “Five Tips for Easier Cancer Medication Management”, Roberta Carson, Aug. 10, 2016
