Prescription drug errors injure more than 1.5 million patients in the US every year.  Most of these errors are entirely preventable, and occur mainly because two medications sound alike, or because pharmacists misread dosages.  There is much that patients can do to avoid suffering injuries caused by prescription errors.

Arizona medical malpractice lawyers believe the best thing you could do to reduce your chances of a prescription error is to make sure you know the name of the medication you’ve been prescribed, and the dosage.  If you're unable to read the doctor's prescription, it’s highly likely that a pharmacist won't be able to either.  Most errors occur because pharmacists misread a prescription.  That happens when medications have similar names.  These names look similar when they are written on a prescription, or sound similar when they are read out in the pharmacy.  In any case, a mix-up can have lethal consequences.

Before you leave the doctor’s office, make sure that you understand the dosage, side effects of medication, the mode of usage (before or after meals) and other important details that can impact the way you ingest the medication.

Follow your doctor's instructions carefully.

If you want your prescription translated into English, you can get the pharmacist to translate it for you.  Most pharmacies will have translation software, although the accuracy of these is debatable.  If you need your prescriptions, take someone who speaks English along with you.

Before you leave the pharmacy, make sure that you have the right medication.  Check the refill bottle and the label.  Do they look the same as the last time you had a refill?  If you have doubts, ask questions.

Try to use the same pharmacy as much as possible for your medication needs.  This way, you may be able to avoid errors because the pharmacy database keeps track of errors.