The investigative team took an "identical" perscription to a large
number of pharmacies to have it filled ( I THINK they said 100) and then
waited to see what errors would occur. The rate of error was much higher
than they anticipated ... in fact it came out to about 270,000 errors/day.
To give us a clear example of the potential seriousness, she took a
perscrip- tion to a pharmacy for Coumadin, which is a very strong blood
thinner, which if not given in the precise dosage needed, could result in
internal bleeding. The Physician had written "QOD" on the perscription,
which means "every other day". When filling the order, the pharmacist
typed "EVERY day". This of course, would have resulted in a 100% overdose
of the drug... with the effects being potentially lethal.
With the odds of getting GOOD quality health care being a joke for MANY
Native Americans, we really need to take charge wherever possible. I
won't bother getting into the methods of sorting out whether or not a
health issue needs a physician or serious lifestyle evaluation, but on
those occasions where medication seems to be the answer, we definitely
need to take a VERY active part in the healing process. If you have ANY
drug allergies, make sure you discuss them with your doctor before he
prescribes a drug of any kind. Discuss the potential drug with your
doctor, INCLUDING dosage, potential side effects. If you take any
medication on a daily basic for whatever reason, make sure that this
particular doctor is aware of it, since some drugs react very badly with
one another. When you pick up your medication from the pharmacy, READ THE
LABEL BEFORE LEAVING THE AREA. If the label doesn't agree with what your
doctor told you, Stop! Let the pharmacist know that the label doesn't
match what you think the doctor said. (This is how I caught a poten-
tially dangerous error that had been made with an allergy medication I was
told to take .... it turned out to be the completely wrong drug). It can
be a frightening world out there in general, at times, without stupid
mistakes lowering our numbers even further...
Wishing you all a Healthy and Happy 1995 ...
lyn
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"We did not weave the web of life. We | Lyn Dearborn; Naturalist/Person
are merely a strand in it. Whatever | Turtle Clan Ojibwe
we do to the web, we do to ourselves" | dearborn@anchor.engr.sgi.com
--"Walk gently on Mother Earth" -- Lyn | 415/ 321-1075
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