Medication Error Law
Medication Errors (medical error) Law is a subset of Medical Malpractice law which can result in severe and permanent injury or death. These types of errors can occur at any point during the process of selecting, prescribing and dispensing medications. It can be the administration of the wrong drug, prescribing the incorrect dose of a drug, bad interactions with other drugs that shouldn’t have been prescribed together and various other accidents, mistakes and problems related to medication. The most common errors are those made by the nurses and doctors when administering medication, although pharmacy error contributes to this problem as well.
Medication errors are responsible for over a million fatalities or severe injuries in the U.S. each year. These types of errors are a preventable hazard in nursing homes, out-patient facilities, hospitals, clinics and surgical centers. Medication reconciliation is an important policy for dealing with the increased risks present during transition periods of medical care, such as admissions, transfers within and discharges from hospitals and other medical institutions. It dictates a thorough comparison of patient medication orders in these situations to avoid dosing errors, drug interactions, duplications, omissions, etc.
Visit our Torts and Personal Injury Law page for information on issues regarding wrongful death and state statutes regarding limitations for filing personal injury claims.
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Medication Error Law - US
- FDA - Medication Errors
FDA receives medication error reports on marketed human drugs (including prescription drugs, generic drugs, and over-the-counter drugs) and nonvaccine biological products and devices.
- Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FD&C Act)
In the United States, the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act defines what requires a prescription.
- National Coordinating Council for Medication Error Reporting and Prevention
- National Institutes of Health (NIH)
The National Institutes of Health (NIH), a part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, is the nation’s medical research agency—making important medical discoveries that improve health and save lives.
- Prescription Drug Marketing Act
- United States Pharmacopeia (USP)
The United States Pharmacopeia (USP) is a non–governmental, official public standards–setting authority for prescription and over–the–counter medicines and other healthcare products manufactured or sold in the United States.
