Medication Mix-Ups: How to Protect Yourself—and How a Health Advocate Can Help

According to the FDA, medication errors lead to approximately 7,000 to 9,000 deaths every year in the United States alone. And those are just the ones we know about. Countless other individuals suffer from side effects, hospitalizations, or long-term complications caused by mix-ups, duplications, or drug interactions.

This post will explore medication errors, medication reconciliation, why pharmacy coordination matters, and how to protect yourself or a loved one from harm.

What Is a Medication Error, Exactly?

A medication error is any preventable event that may cause or lead to inappropriate medication use or harm. Some scenarios where medication errors could occur include:

• Taking the wrong dose of a medication.

• Being prescribed a drug that interacts with another one you are taking.

• Continuing medicines that are no longer needed.

• Forgetting to mention supplements or OTC meds that may have potential interactions with prescription medications.

Here's the truth- most medication errors are not due to your physician's negligence! Far from it—they often happen because our healthcare system is fragmented. For instance,  patients may end up seeing different specialists who may be part of various health systems with Electronic Medical record systems that do not "speak to one another." In other words, the electronic medical record systems are not integrated. What's more, the rushed 15-minute double-booked siloed office visit that has become the 'norm' in today's medical landscape, thanks to the corporate takeover of medical offices,  does not allow your doctors to get a complete picture of what is going on with every aspect of your health. Unless you or someone you trust steps in to connect the dots.

Medication Reconciliation: A Safety Net We All Need

Medication reconciliation is a process where all your medications—prescription, over-the-counter, vitamins, and supplements—are reviewed and verified for:

• Accuracy

• Appropriateness

• Interactions

• Duplication or omissions

This should happen every time you transition between care settings—from hospital to home, or when you see a new provider. But too often, it doesn't.

That’s where working with a health advocate with the depth of medical knowledge can make a real difference.

 

Some Real-Life Scenarios-  Mrs. Thompson’s Story

Let’s say Mrs. Thompson sees a cardiologist for her blood pressure, a rheumatologist for arthritis, and a psychiatrist for anxiety. Each provider prescribes something new. She fills her meds at two different pharmacies because she gets a better deall for some medications at one compared to the other. But  she doesn’t always mention her over-the-counter supplements.

No one catches that her NSAID for arthritis and her blood pressure meds can cause kidney strain. Or that her anxiety medication interacts with her OTC sleep aid.

Within weeks, she’s feeling dizzy and fatigued—but doesn’t connect the dots until she lands in the emergency room.

This scenario is all too common. And it’s preventable.

 

Five Simple Steps to Reduce Medication Risks

1. Keep a Current Medication List
   Include prescription names, doses, times taken, and who prescribed each one. Don’t forget supplements!

2. Use a Single Pharmacy
   Unfortunately the pharmacy is another example of just how fragmented our healtcare system is. So shopping around for a deal at different pharmacies can be detrimental, because there is no centralized system across pharmacies to detect potential interactions.

3. Bring Your List to Every Appointment
   Update your list every time there’s a change—start, stop, or dose adjustment and bring it with you to every appointment. Fortunately this can be as simple as keeping an updated note on your smartphone.

4. Ask Questions
   I've seen scenarios where patients are kept on medications for years, and no one thinks to ask why they're still on the medication. If you’re unsure why you’re taking a certain medication or uncertain what it’s for, speak up. It’s your right to understand.

5. Consult a Health Advocate
   If you’re managing multiple medications, seeing several healthcare providers and especially after a hospitalization, an indeopendent health advocate's input is well worth the investment. It can help you sort through and prevent dangerous errors and also highlight medications that may be redundant.

 

Final thoughts

In our complex healthcare system, medication safety often falls on the patient’s shoulders—but it doesn’t have to. The more medications you're taking and the more specialists you see can make keeping track of your medications a challenge. But this is one of the most important steps you can take to control your health.

And if you need support? That’s what I’m here for.

Click here to schedule a FREE Strategy Session to see if I can be of service.