Many patients may not think twice about taking doctor-prescribed medication. However, people may experience serious side effects if they do not take a prescription in the correct way.
There are several ways that a prescription can cause harm:
Frequency
According to the Pharmacy Times, prescriptions can cause harm if people take them too often. The label on the prescription should clearly explain how many pills a patient needs to take and when to take them. People may experience side effects if they take too much medicine at one time or if they take it more often than necessary.
Dosage
People can experience harm if they take the wrong dosage of medication. This may happen in several different ways. A doctor could write the prescription for the wrong dosage or a pharmacist may fill the prescription incorrectly. Additionally, people might make mistakes at home. They could mix up their prescriptions and accidentally take the wrong amount.
Medication Interactions
Some medications do not react well when taken together. The medicine may fail to treat the condition or people might experience side effects. To help guard against this, patients need to make sure that their doctor knows exactly which medications and supplements they take so the doctor can consider this information before prescribing a new medication.
Some prescription errors happen because people make mistakes at home. However, medical professionals can also err if they were not careful when they wrote the prescription. If doctors accurately review a patient’s medical records and write clear instructions for the pharmacist and the patient, they can help decrease the chances of a prescription error.
