In an effort to meet the goals outlined in the 2007 Prescription Drug User Fee Act, the Food and Drug Administration has released two guidance documents focused on reducing medication errors. According to the Institute of Medicine, around 7,000 people die each year in the U.S. due to medication-related issues, so reducing them is a priority.
New York patients might have prescription medications that have not been approved by the FDA to treat the condition they've been prescribed for. This is called off-label drug use, and though it is legal and somewhat common, patients could benefit from understanding how off-label drug use works and knowing which of their own medications may have been prescribed this way.
Prescription management can become quite complicated for a New York patient dealing with several medical conditions. However, a medication error can affect anyone, including someone taking just a single prescription. Although more medications require more careful monitoring for issues such as drug interactions, the manner in which a medication is labeled can also lead to confusion. The United States Food and Drug Administration is working on improving practices related to drug containers and labeling to head off some potential areas of error.
When a person checks into a New York hospital, a friend or relative should go along to monitor medications and watch for mistakes. That is the advice from a representative from Leapfrog, a nonprofit organization that rates hospitals on safety. Medical errors, which include medication mistakes, have been identified as the third most common cause of death in the United States.
Read more: Computer-assisted medication systems not a cure all for errors
New York patients should know that an estimated 7,000 people around the country die annually due to medication errors, and a total of about 1 million errors happen each year in U.S. hospitals. In one 2016 case, an 87-year-old woman was rushed to the emergency room due to a high fever, and her sister gave the ER doctor the woman's medical history and a list of the medications she was on including some that had been recently added for cognitive issues.
MANHATTAN LAW OFFICE
122 East 42nd Street Suite 3800
New York, NY 10168
Tel: 212-LAWYERS
Tel: 212-697-9280
QUEENS LAW OFFICE
8900 Sutphin Blvd Suite 501
Queens, NY 11435
Tel: (718) 399-3100
*By Appointment Only