Many people have had a reaction to a drug. Sometimes two drugs have react badly to each other when the patient takes them together and they usually know it right away. Many of us have heard stories or know first hand that bad drug combinations could be fatal. Another less known, but just as deadly scenario is when there is no apparent reaction on the surface then suddenly an ailment gets worse because one pill was dampening the effectiveness of another as in the case with Paxil and Tamoxifen.

The Statistics

Many people leave it up to the professionals to make sure that they are doing their job correctly and keeping your best medical interest in mind. Sometimes factors such as fatigue, lack of information, stress, and bad communication can be the difference between you feeling better or a ride in an ambulance to the emergency ward. Not many people know that:

• Presecription mishaps kill one person every day.
• 1.3 million people are injured by drug mishaps every year.
• The pharmaceutical company’s #1 priority is to have you take the largest combination of drugs for your ailments rather than the other way around.

Luckily steps are finally being made to correct the way the medical community communicates internally.

The Tin Can and String Approach to Medicine

The medical community has a somewhat unorthodox structure of communication.

• Patient Medical History – scribbled in both pen and short golf pencil and sometimes loosely translated, then typed.
• Research Papers in Medical Journals- quite dry, highly specialized, and usually contradicts a procedure that was once alright, then banned, then reinstated under certain circumstances (see: Leeches).
• The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) – sends out warnings as quickly as a large federal agency possibly can with a $120 million short fall, according to the Philadelphia Enquirer.
• Telephone and Email – work, but only after the correct forms have been filled out, sent by fax, and if both doctors are available at the same time.
• Prescriptions – sure, the computer is a method some doctors use, but the good old prescription pad and telephone is still king. This is sort of like keeping the smoke signal and brass bell as a way to call the fire department.

Finally, the medical community has embraced the internet.

Reactionary Medicine Has Just Gotten More Reactionary

The Institute for Safe Medication Practices, a non profit organization, is certified by the federal government to collect error reports and other information about quality breaches. They are partnering up with the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists  in launching a new National Alert Network for Serious Medication Errors. The network was launched in December 2009 and will send email alerts to 35,000 pharmacists working in hospitals and health systems when a dangerous or life-threatening error is reported to ISMP. These emails will go to physicians and nurses as well.

Consumer Safety – Patients and their families can sign up for alerts about the medications they take and report any problems they encounter with their medications at  http://www.consumermedsafety.org/ .

Medwatch – The FDA has compensated somewhat for its budget woes by creating a site that can help shore up the communication between the public and the medical industry. Consumers can also submit reports of errors directly to the FDA at http://www.fda.gov/Safety/MedWatch.

Protect Yourself

Prevent medication mistakes by following some of these simple procedures:

• Know the size, shape, color and strength of any pills you take routinely.
• Ask your doctor for a sample or ask to see a picture of the drug in the Physician’s Desk Reference for any new drug you take. Then cross-reference by going to the Physician’s Desk Reference Web site at www.pdr.net.
• If your doctor doesn’t write prescriptions on a computer, make sure you doctor writes neatly. Also ask him to identify the drug by both the generic and the brand name.
• Ask both your doctor and the pharmacist what the medication is most commonly used for, how to take it and what the side effects are. Bring up any red flags if their explanations are different.
• Write down the strength and instructions your doctor had in mind regarding the drug and make sure the pharmacist fills the order as intended.
• If you are the victim of a medication mix-up, contact Phillips Webster for a consultation and to find out your legal rights.