Ways To Prevent Accidental Overdose on Prescription Drugs

Updated on October 29, 2020
Ways To Prevent Accidental Overdose on Prescription Drugs

There are many pharmaceutical drugs prescribed to patients every day. While these prescriptions help consumers to manage serious conditions, they can also be deadly if not taken properly. Because of this, medical professionals consistently follow protocols to ensure only the correct medicines and doses, along with thorough instructions, make it to their patients. Without these methods, patients could be at serious risk of overdosing. To learn the top ways to prevent accidental overdose on prescription drugs, read below.

Thorough Assessment of Patients’ Medical History

The first way professionals prevent overdosing, or any kind of wrong prescription, is by assessing a person’s medical history. All patients who need prescription medication can’t get a prescription filled through any pharmacy until they have a doctor’s referral. This allows the doctor to assess the patient’s condition and find out what prescriptions they require. Doctors will question the patient regarding their medical history, which will provide the necessary information about their health. Part of this is also gathering information about any other medicine the person may be taking. The doctor can then determine the prescription and the proper dosage they need.

Proper Pharmaceutical Verification

Several measures are always taken in pharmacies to lessen the chances of an accidental overdose. The pharmacist cannot even begin to fill a person’s prescription until they’ve received a doctor’s referral. Pharmacists must follow the doctors’ orders to the letter to prevent them from giving out too much or too little of the medication. They should specifically check the dosage, which will tell them how much medicine to take per day. They must also consider how often the prescription should be taken. This prevents excess amounts of medicine from going out, which could then be abused and result in an overdose.

Clearly Communicate Proper Dosage and New Scanner Technology

One of the simplest ways to prevent an accidental overdose on prescription drugs is clear communication of the proper dosage. This involves a medical professional, either a doctor or pharmacist, going over all the instructions of when to take the prescription and how much to take with the patient. Part of the communication process also comes from a reliable package label. A good layout that makes the information easy to find is one of the many tips for a safer medication label. This means the label communicates all information clearly and legibly to the consumer.