Question

We have read about the prevalence of medical errors. When an error occurs, e.g., a medication error, who is responsible, the physician, the nurse, the pharmacist, the facility? Please cite references.

Answer 1

Answer: The healthcare professionals are responsible for providing the quality of care to the patients. When there is medical error occurs, the person treating the patient could be responsible. Because in the case of medical errors, the dose should be cross check by the nurse and should be calculated before administrating to the patient. So, if the wrong dose has been prescribed, the pharmacist should verify it and then dispense the medication. The dose should be calculated by the nurse. Hence, all the healthcare professionals involved in treating patients are responsible for the errors that occurs in dose administration.