Families may decide to move aging loved ones into nursing homes because of their medical support needs. Cognitive decline or dementia can make it all but impossible to meet an older adult’s needs at home. Medication can also be difficult for an older adult or their family members to manage.
As people age, their need for medical support often increases. Many older adults are on multiple different prescription medication. They have to take those medications in accordance with medical recommendations. Older adults can forget to take their medication or may mix up their pills.
The staff members at nursing homes have to assist residents with medication administration. Unfortunately, medication errors can still occur in a professional setting. Mistakes with medications are a common reason that families bring negligence claims against nursing homes and similar assisted living facilities. What are the chances of nursing home workers making mistakes when administering medication?
Medication mistakes are shockingly common
Employees at nursing homes are often spread quite thin. The companies operating nursing homes often try to minimize staffing costs. Workers have to multitask and assist numerous residents in a short amount of time. They are one moment of distraction away from making a mistake while administering medications.
A review of multiple studies found that medication errors were quite common in nursing homes. Between 16% and 27% of residents experienced an error during medication administration. Research also found that 75% of nursing home residents may take at least one inappropriate or unnecessary prescription medication.
Common forms of medication errors include administering the wrong drug, possibly due to confusing the medication that two different residents require. Timing errors are also a concern. A worker may not realize that the shift before them had substantial delays, resulting in the patient receiving their medication for hours behind schedule. The on-time administration of the next dose could result in an overdose or other adverse reactions.
Completely forgetting to administer medications due to other demands is another common source of medication errors. In such cases, residents may be at risk of symptoms reappearing or treatment failing.
Pursuing a nursing home negligence lawsuit can help families demand accountability when medication errors harm their loved ones. Residents in nursing homes can experience a variety of damaging side effects after workers make medication mistakes. Their family members may need to take action on their behalf.