You depend on several medications to keep you in good health. If you visit an emergency room, do you know how to prevent medication errors?
U.S. News & World Report offers tips to keep you safe in an emergency medical situation. Learn how to keep yourself from becoming a medical malpractice victim.
Gather a team
When your pharmacist and other healthcare professionals work together on your medication orders, they reduce the chances of errors. If you visit the emergency room, let your pharmacist and primary care physician know. That way, they may work together with the emergency room staff to treat you.
Keep your medical team’s contact information on you
Write your doctor’s and pharmacist’s contact information, and keep it on you. Emergency room staff could need to know why you take your medication and get your medication history.
Maintain a list of your medications
Write your current medications in your phone or on a note kept in your wallet. This also applies to your known drug allergies. That way, if you arrive at the emergency room unresponsive, the staff knows which treatments and drugs to administer. Also, update your medication list when you change your dosage, start a new medication or stop taking an old one.
Do not forget over-the-counter medication and supplements
You may not think much about the supplements or over-the-counter medications you take. The substances could trigger a negative reaction to medication administered in an emergency room. You could also experience avoidable side effects if you do not share which supplements you take.
Hopefully, you never experience medical malpractice. Understanding prevention methods could help reduce your chances.