September 16, 2015: SafeMedicationUse.ca Newsletter - Illegible Prescriptions Can Lead to Errors
SafeMedicationUse.ca recently received a report that highlights just how dangerous bad handwriting on prescriptions can be. The handwriting on a child's prescription for the medicine dexamethasone was hard to read. As a result, the pharmacist misinterpreted the prescription and dispensed the wrong dose of medicine. Dexamethasone is a corticosteroid medicine that is used to treat many different conditions, including rheumatoid arthritis. Taking the wrong dose of dexamethasone could cause serious harm. Fortunately, in this case the mistake was discovered, and the child was unharmed. Read more...
