Most people don’t even think of the consequences that are intailed with mixing perscription drugs. Take Heath Ledger or instance, he died tragically from mixing six medications that include sedatives, pain killers and antianxiety drugs. Although this was ruled as an accidental death, suicide was not out of the question. You might wonder how a person would gain access to so many perscription drugs at once. In Heath Ledger’s case, 3 of the 6 medications were perscribed in Europe, and the other in the US. The night that he died, he had taken 2 narcotic painkillers, 3 benzodiazepine tranquilizers and an over the counter sleepaid, which proved to be a deadly concoction. Not only should the doctor oversee druge-drug interaction, but the pharmacies should mandate that before a patient picks up their perscriptions, they must consult with the pharmacist about drug interactions as well.
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Forensic Nursing Chronicles 