There exist a number of more commonplace underlying causes for medication errors in New Mexico. These include such issues as poor communication, mixing up medications for patients with similar names and sloppy abbreviations when prescribing. Fatigue is another prevalent and recurring cause of medication errors in New Mexico and across the United States.
Situations in which medication errors caused by fatigue occur
Medication errors caused by fatigue most often happen in a hospital setting. This type of medication error can occur in the prescribing, dispensing and distribution phases.
Physicians in hospitals are known to work long shifts. The same holds true for nurses. In some cases, even pharmacists at in-house pharmacies put in prolonged hours. No matter how diligent and conscientious a professional in the healthcare industry is, the human body functions with less efficiency as a person becomes fatigued. Mistakes are far more likely to occur when a doctor, pharmacist or nurse is tired and stressed. This includes medication errors.
Prevalence of medication errors resulting from fatigue
The incidence of medication errors resulting from professional fatigue is a major concern in hospitals and medical centers across the country. A national survey of hospital administrators found that the occurrence of medication errors arising from fatigued staff members was a major issue if not the number one concern at their facilities.
If you or a loved one was injured as the result of a medication error, you would probably be wise to protect your important legal rights by consulting with an experienced medical malpractice lawyer. As a matter of standard routine, most medical malpractice attorneys will schedule an initial consultation and case evaluation at no cost to a prospective client.
