Medication errors are among the most common types of preventable harm in healthcare. They occur at every stage — prescribing, dispensing, administration and monitoring — and they don't only happen in hospitals. Patients collecting prescriptions, taking multiple medications at home or switching between providers are also at risk.
The good news is that many medication errors are catchable if you know what to look for.
The most common types of medication error
- Wrong dose — the prescribed dose is outside the normal therapeutic range for your weight, age or kidney function
- Wrong frequency — once daily written as twice daily, or vice versa
- Drug-drug interactions — a new medication reacts with something you're already taking
- Drug-allergy interaction — a medication prescribed that you've previously reacted to
- Duplicate therapy — the same drug prescribed under two different names (brand and generic)
- Dispensing error — pharmacy gives the wrong drug or wrong strength
- Transcription error — a digit transposed when copying a dose (e.g. 10 mg written as 100 mg)
Always double-check new prescriptions
When you collect a new medication, take a moment to verify before you leave the pharmacy. This is when errors are easiest to catch and correct.
- Check the drug name — does it match what the doctor said? (Brand and generic names often look similar)
- Check the dose — does it match the prescription?
- Check the frequency — how many times a day, and are there meal/time instructions?
- Check the quantity — is the number of tablets/ml correct for the intended course?
- Look at the expiry date
Protecting yourself from drug-drug interactions
Interactions occur when two or more medications affect each other's efficacy or side-effect profile. The risk increases significantly when you see multiple prescribers who don't share records — a scenario common for patients with specialist care.
The most effective protection is keeping a complete, up-to-date medications list and sharing it with every provider at every appointment. Include over-the-counter medications, supplements and herbal remedies — many interact with prescribed drugs.
"The most dangerous assumption in prescribing is that someone else has checked for interactions."
Dr. Lina Haddad, CMO, Looms
Reporting an error
If you believe you've received the wrong medication or dose, contact the prescribing doctor or pharmacist immediately — don't take further doses until you've confirmed the prescription is correct. If you've already taken a potentially harmful dose, call the relevant emergency or poison control line.
In the UAE, medication errors can be reported to the Ministry of Health and Prevention (MOHAP) or the relevant health authority. In the UK, the MHRA Yellow Card scheme accepts patient reports.
How Looms helps
Looms maintains a running Medicines list built from your prescriptions and flags potential drug-drug and drug-allergy conflicts automatically. If a new prescription includes a drug you've previously reacted to, or one that interacts with your current medications, Looms will surface a warning. To understand each field on a prescription before you check it, read our guide to reading a prescription. For general advice on tracking medication side effects, we have a dedicated guide as well.