James Mangan, RPh, director of hospital and ambulatory pharmacy for Hyannis, Mass.-based Cape Cod Healthcare, shared the most common medication errors that patients make at home with the Cape Cod Times.
10 common errors:
1. Not providing medical professionals with an accurate, complete list of medications
2. Not disposing properly of discontinued medications
3. Mixing incompatible medications, like a prescription and over-the-counter drugs or supplements
4. Not understanding dangerous food interactions. For example, grapefruit juice can negatively affect the liver enzymes that metabolize the medication.
5. Missing doses of medications and then doubling up
6. Splitting extended-release medications
7. Storing medications in the bathroom because the warm, moist environment can affect the potency of the medication over time
8. Incorrectly measuring liquid medications
9. Not reading the medication pamphlet or directions on the bottle in full
10. Not knowing all of the ingredients in an all-in-one cold medication