In the months following a trip to the doctor’s office, you may begin a new medication. However, if you notice increasingly negative side effects after starting it, you could be the victim of medical malpractice.
Several signs of negligence can come up when you talk with a medical professional. Noticing these and understanding why prescription errors happen can help you if you are struggling after malpractice.
Diverting their full attention
According to the National Library of Medicine, when you have to compete to get your doctor’s full attention, it can lead to them missing important facts about you. This could include what you are allergic to or what other drugs you are taking.
When prescribing a new medicine, it is important to make sure there is no chance of an adverse drug event. This happens when one drug negatively interacts with another one and causes serious health issues for you.
Thinking about other topics
If another patient or staff member interrupts your office visit right as your doctor is writing out a prescription, your doctor could mistakenly miswrite the number or name of the medicine you need. A person introducing a new topic or concern is one way to distract or confuse a doctor.
This interruption could also happen earlier in the visit, which may cut your time to talk shorter than you wanted.
Failing to explain
When verbally describing how to take your medicine, your doctor may leave out important details or fail to mention how to take it at all. Since some medicines need unique instructions and more clarification than others, you should always ask questions of your doctor and read the safety warnings with all medications.
Noticing negligence and how it affects you can help you understand what to do next after suffering from medical malpractice.