Mr. Patrick Wallace was recently started on a blood pressure medication to treat his new diagnosis of hypertension (high blood p
ressure). He returns to see his doctor to make sure the new medication is working. The office has recently hired a new medical assistant named Meredith. Meredith is having a hard time with the procedure, and so she looks at Mr. Wallace’s past few blood pressure (BP) results and assumes that it is probably about the same (Meredith is unaware of the most recent medication that was prescribed for high blood pressure). The doctor comes into the exam room and reviews Mr. Wallace’s vital signs and medications. The doctor decides that, based on today’s results, the blood pressure medication dose is not effective, and increases the dose. About two days after starting the new dose of medication, Mr. Wallace gets out of bed in the morning and becomes very dizzy and passes out. His wife frantically calls 911 and Mr. Wallace is taken to the ER, and his blood pressure is dangerously low. His doctor sees him in the ER and determines that his medication strength is too high and lowers it to his previous dose. Now Mr. Wallace has an expensive ambulance bill, and an ER bill, and has pain in his hip from the fall.
My assumption is that Meredith did not document the blood pressure since she couldn't do the procedure and wrote down the same numbers as his last visit.
So Meredith has a problem with using instruments and the doctor doesn't know it. Mrs. Might file a complaint or get a lawyer for malpractice.
As the hospital does a risk management regarding this medication error, they may find out what happened. I don't think so, since Meredith did not document a true reading and the doctor didn't double check it.
