Side effects Side effects do not only happen because the wrong medicine is given to a patient. A negative side effect can also occur if the wrong dosage is administered. A patient can have a side effect with a drug whereas another patient might not. This is the reason that all drugs and all patients must be evaluated differently and individually. Misreading of test results Test results are ordered and performed by the medical professional in a particular discipline. This test may be read and signed off on by another medical professional in the same field of expertise. Although complicated in nature, all of the medical professionals involved are schooled and licensed to be accurate. It is also a possibility that these medical professionals may make mistakes due to human error. The purpose of having a test is to clear up vague symptoms or to confirm a medical professional’s initial diagnosis. Another reason for tests is to evaluate the changes that the treatment has enabled. The vital importance of any test cannot be emphasized enough. First, if the test results are misread, then the next step is compromised. The treatment, which we will discuss in the next section, will be wrong. If treatment is wrong, the patient will not improve, symptoms may even worsen, or other conditions may present themselves. The medical professional must be on the cutting edge of education and training in order to correctly read the test results. This medical professional must also thoroughly understand all equipment that they use for the test and for the reading of the test (Rodziewicz et al., 2023). Failure to use an indicated diagnostic test If there is a diagnostic test indicated, it is vitally important to conduct the test in order to procure the most accurate diagnosis. When a medical professional fails to use an indicated diagnostic test, they are not acting in the best interest of the patient, and the result will be a faulty diagnosis, which ultimately means the patient will not heal or improve (Rodziewicz et al., 2023). It may also mean that the future health and well-being of the patient is compromised or worsened. cure a disease, or repair damage that has occurred. If the medical professional evaluates all the paperwork they were given against his or her own subjective history and objective data collection and comes up with the conclusion that the treatment plan does not fit, the medical professional may have been handed a misread test result. At this point the option is to consult with the referring doctor and/or the medical professional who read the test initially as an attempt to ensure the results are free from error. Failure to act on abnormal tests Another medical error that must be addressed here is when a doctor receives the test results which they ordered and know the treatment that would be the best but just does not order it (Rodziewicz et al., 2023). The medical professional in this case may see the results but feel it not consequential enough to treat. Patients ought to be able to have the assurance that the medical professional will act in their best interest. If the patient does not have that assurance, then they will be getting second, third, and fourth opinions to make certain that a pain, a discomfort, or a fear that things are not right will be treated appropriately.
It remains difficult to anticipate who will suffer an ADE or when, and from what medication. The reason for this is that research has not yet identified any valid predictors of the ADEs. Even current patient characteristics are not useful predictors of an ADE because patients who have suffered ADEs are not in some special elite group. Medication error Medication errors cause at least one death every day and injure approximately 1.5 million people annually in the United States (Lahue et al., 2012). Medication mishaps can occur anywhere in the distribution system. There are five distribution systems: 1. Prescribing. 2. Repackaging. 3. Dispensing. 4. Administering. 5. Monitoring. The volatility that this represents is that there are human factors associated with each of the five distribution systems. The Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER) began receiving reports of medication errors in January 1992, when the U.S. Pharmacopeia began forwarding reports to the FDA. CDER responsibilities are not completed when the safety and effectiveness of a drug product are determined. It also has the responsibility for helping to ensure the safe use of the drugs it approves by identifying and avoiding proprietary names (among other things) that contribute to problems. These problems could present themselves in the prescribing, the dispensing, or the administration of the product. Medication errors occur for a variety of reasons including miscommunication of drug orders with poor handwriting, confusion between drugs with similar names, poor packaging design, and confusion of metric or other dosing units. Medication errors usually occur because of multiple, complex factors which involve all parts of the healthcare system from health professionals and patients (Rodziewicz et al., 2023). Consequently, all these parties also play a role in preventing medication errors. Misdiagnosis for treatment Once the tests are completed, the medical professional must try to determine the patient’s condition and the appropriate treatment to apply. They rely on the accuracy of the tests performed to be complete and read correctly. Once all of the test results are in, the treatment plan can be prescribed and implemented. The medical professional may be the second or third down the line from the doctor who sent the patient to have a particular test. All the information could be considered to be second- or third-hand. The medical professional must have his or her own subjective history and objective data collection from the patient in order to confirm that all the Misdiagnosis for treatment can be disastrous if the patient is over-treated and symptoms will remain or worsen if the patient is under-treated (Rodziewicz et al., 2023). Depending on the therapy chosen, results could be inconsequential or—in a worst-case scenario—fatal. If the medical professional wants to confirm his or her decision with any certainty, taking another subjective history and objective data collection would be a viable option. The purpose of treatment is to correct a physical ailment, pieces of the puzzle still fit. Incorrect choice of therapy
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Book Code: MFL1225
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