Misadministrations of medicine and medication errors are frequent and serious problems at nursing homes.

Receiving the wrong medication or not administering the medication in the dosage or frequency as required by the physician’s order occurs as a result of carelessness on the part of the staff, lack of supervision of the nurses administering the medications, or not having enough properly trained and supervised to staff to administer the medications.

 

Studies have shown that the two most common medical mistakes are:
1. delayed or missed treatment of medication; and
2. the administration of the wrong dose or the wrong medication

 

 Since 2000, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has received more than 95,000 reports of medication errors. These reports are voluntary, so the number of actual medication errors is believed to be higher Nursing home and medication error risks can be considerable because many patients are on a number of prescriptions and have already compromised physical health conditions. If medication error causes injury to a resident, they have the right to seek compensation for their losses. The following are the most common types of medication errors:

Medications administered to the wrong patient;
Medications given in an incorrect dose (overdose or inadequate dose);
Failing to monitor the effects of a medication.

 

Many medications like blood thinners (Coumadin, Heparin, Lovenox) require regular laboratory tests; Administering a medication to a patient who is allergic to the medicine. In a nursing home or assisted living facility, medications should only be administered under a prescription by a qualified nurse. The standard of care requires the nurse to verify the prescription, the medication, the dose, and the patient before administering each medicine.

 

According to the authors of one of the largest studies to date, medication-related injuries in nursing homes are common and often preventable according.

Out of the total number of adverse drug events identified in the study, one of them was fatal, thirty-one (6%) were life-threatening, 206 (38%) were serious, and 308 (56%) were significant. During the course of the study, 188 potential adverse drug events were also identified.

Example of an actual medication error:

A state enrolled nurse gave 300 mg morphine which had been prescribed for one patient who was dying from cancer to another patient in an adjoining room at a nursing home. The 77 year old recipient was bed bound with severe emphysema and pneumoconiosis. A general practitioner advised careful observations. About 11 hours after he had been given the morphine, the man was found collapsed and in coma. An ambulance was summoned, the paramedic crew gave naloxone, and the patient recovered consciousness and was taken to hospital, but he had a further seizure and died.