| Contents | Previous | Next |
A patient's refusal to take his medicine can sometimes be considered a medication error because the refusal may be a result of improper patient education. This happened at one hospital where an alcoholic patient was admitted with delirium tremens. His doctor prescribed paraldehyde, and, since the patient was unruly, the doctor decided to have the drug administered orally. So the nurse mixed the paraldehyde with orange juice in a plastic cup with a plastic spoon-not realizing that paraldehyde dissolves many plastics. As the patient was about to drink his medicine, he noticed that the cup and spoon were melting. He threw the cup down and shouted, "I'm not taking that stuff-you're trying to kill me."
In this case, as in many cases of patient refusal, the understandable reluctance of the patient could have been avoided if the personnel had given the matter a little forethought.
Along with the indications, any aspect of his medication the patient may interpret as dangerous should be avoided or explained beforehand, whenever possible. Patients also need reassurance about unpleasant side effects of a medication. Usually, a patient will be more apt to take his medicine as prescribed when he is told how it will benefit him.