by Eric Christianson | Oct 7, 2026 | Polypharmacy Cases And The Prescribing Cascade
One of the most common medication-related problems I see is not necessarily starting the wrong medication. Sometimes the medication is completely appropriate when it is initially prescribed, but the problem is that it never gets stopped. A medication is started for a...
by Eric Christianson | Oct 4, 2026 | Respiratory Medication and Disease State Clinical Pearls
A patient who keeps having asthma exacerbations can be frustrating to manage. It is easy to assume that the patient simply needs a stronger inhaler or additional medications. But before escalating therapy, it is important to figure out why the patient is not getting...
by Eric Christianson | Sep 30, 2026 | Neurology, Pain, and Musculoskeletal Case Studies
A 76-year-old patient with osteoarthritis is started on nabumetone (podcast) for chronic knee pain. A few weeks later, the patient reports that both legs and ankles are becoming swollen. The edema is attributed to “fluid retention,” and Lasix (furosemide) 20 mg daily...
by Eric Christianson | Sep 27, 2026 | Gastrointestinal Case Studies
A 79-year-old patient with newly diagnosed Alzheimer’s disease is started on Aricept (donepezil) 10 mg once daily. The prescription is written for 10 mg from the beginning rather than starting at 5 mg daily and increasing the dose after the patient has had time to...
by Eric Christianson | Sep 23, 2026 | Medication Errors
I’ve seen numerous errors where the patient thought something was a little off and said something to a healthcare professional. One of the most important medication safety tools in healthcare is listening to the patient. Patients will sometimes say things that...
