Tragic Medication Errors Result in Accidental Abortions and Premature Birth

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I found this at abc news. Have you ever worried that the medicine that is given to you in the hospital is the wrong thing that could actually hurt you? That is exactly what happened in a hospital in Florida. Two pregnant women were given the wrong prescriptions. It caused the first to lose her unborn twins, and the second to deliver prematurely, which caused severe brain damage to the baby. The accident was described by the hospital as "an unfortunate error that occurred despite the safeguards we have in place." - St. Mary's Medical Center

There are always chances of mistake when it comes to prescriptions. It is in our human nature to make mistakes, but I also believe that it is the duty of the hospital staff to make sure what they are giving the patient is correct. I am a little torn between this argument.

Like I stated earlier, we are always going to make mistakes. It is inevitable. I think that there are a lot of ways that these kind of mistakes can be prevented though. The article stated that most doctor's handwriting is unreadable, which I believe is very true. A lot of medicines sound and are even spelled almost the same. I think that a prescription should be very well written so that it is not mistaken for another. I also believe that a nurse needs to know what the medicine she is giving to her patient is supposed to do. If they don't know, ask. There are never any dumb questions, especially when someones life is in your hands. The medicine given to these two women in the story was specifically used for inducing labor when a miscarriage has occurred. The women were on bed rest so that they could stop labor, not induce it. I think that this was a very unfortunate mistake, and I feel for the families that were involved. I still think that everyone makes mistakes, but when you are in this line of work you have to be extra careful of the mistakes that will come your way. This is just an example of the many cases that happen like this every year. Hopefully there will be more precautions taken to help stop the little mistakes that make a huge impact.