Year: <span>2015</span>

Sometimes Called “The Most Dangerous Drug in America”

Coumadin is a brand name for Warfarin, an anti-coagulant drug that is prescribed most often to treat thrombosis, or blood clots. It was initially introduced in 1948 as a pesticide against rats and mice, which may seem disconcerting to some.

Coumadin is known to be very effective and usually safe for humans, and is today the most common drug prescribed oral anticoagulant in North America. The drug is also used to treat irregular heart rhythms. Coumadin must be carefully calibrated: too much, and you can bleed uncontrollably; too little, and you can develop life-threatening clots.

Coumadin does not work well with certain other medicines and some foods can also cause problems with its effectiveness and effects. Recent studies show that common anti-depressants mixed with Coumadin may result in even greater thinning of the blood. Also at issue is that there has been an increase in the use of anti-depressants, often in elderly patients who may become dizzy or disoriented from those drugs and fall.

Read more “Coumadin Injuries and Death often Attributed to Pharmacist Errors”

Pharmacist’s Duty of Care in Florida – A Case Involving Drug Intoxication and Death
When people go to the pharmacy to have a prescription filled, most assume that a collaboration between their doctor, the pharmacist, and the pharmacy’s computerized record system will ensure they stay in line with a plan for their best health. That is often not a realistic expectation.

A case in Florida involved two powerful medications – Alprazolam and Hydrocodone – and a patient (Mr. Steven Porter) who died as a result of combined intoxication from those drugs in March of 2011.

Instead of cooperatively working together, a lawsuit alleged that the physician involved over-prescribed the drugs and the pharmacy filled the prescriptions in a manner that exceeded what would be deemed reasonable and safe levels.

The lawsuit was filed by the estate of Mr. Porter and also stated that the pharmacy did not warm Mr. Porter about the dangers associated with taking large quantities of the drugs. The trial court dismissed the lawsuit, however a higher court, the District Court of Appeal 5th District reversed the decision.

Read more “Pharmacist’s Duty of Care in Florida – A Case Involving Drug Intoxication and Death”

Florida Prescription Error Law: The Goal is to Limit Errors – But it’s not a Guarantee
An accountant visits his Internal Medicine physician for a routine check-up. It’s tax-time and the poor fellow is working around-the-clock. The doctor writes a prescription for an acid-blocking medication because the stressed out patient complains of acid-indigestion.

The same patient visits his cardiologist a week later and that doctor recommends medications for blood pressure and cholesterol.

Finally, a week later the high-anxiety CPA wakes up with a throbbing tooth ache, and his dentist gives him a prescription for pain pills.

What will happen if he takes all these medications together? This is where the pharmacist plays a critical role in patient care because he or she is the central point where all these drugs come together, hopefully, and possible interactions are identified.

For Medicare patients, there are now organizations called Accountable Care Organizations.

What is an accountable care organization?

Read more “Sharing Prescription Drug Information Among Doctors and Hospitals”

The responsibilities of a pharmacist are being better defined in courts across the country, particularly in Florida. A recent court decision bolstered the fact that a pharmacist is more than an order taker, he or she has a duty to understand the patient and the drugs being prescribed by a physician.

On Feb. 6, the Florida Court of Appeal, 5th District, concluded that the pharmacy could be held liable for failing to inquire into why the patient’s doctor had been repeatedly prescribing drugs before the preceding prescriptions had been depleted.

The ruling stated, in part, “…a pharmacist’s duty to use due and proper care in filling a prescription extends beyond simply following the prescribing physician’s direction.”

Today’s pharmacies are high-volume businesses with pharmacists and pharmacy techs working to fill thousands of medication orders every day, so it’s not surprising to find that mistakes are made. The pharmacy involved in the case pertaining to this ruling happened to be an independent store, so it is possible for errors to occur in dispensaries large and small.

Some of the most common errors include:
• Dispensing the incorrect drug.
• Incorrect dose, dosage form, or quantity.
• Inappropriate, incorrect, or inadequate labeling.
• Confusing or inadequate directions for use.
• Inappropriate preparation, packaging.
• Improper storage of medication prior to dispensing.

Pharmacists are included in Florida Statute 766, which states, in part:
The term “health care providers” means physicians licensed under chapter 458, osteopathic physicians licensed under chapter 459, podiatric physicians licensed under chapter 461, optometrists licensed under chapter 463, dentists licensed under chapter 466, chiropractic physicians licensed under chapter 460, pharmacists licensed under chapter 465, or hospitals or ambulatory surgical centers licensed under chapter 395.

There are provisions for victims of pharmacy mistakes to be compensated, and this particular area of law is quite complex. If you or anyone you know believes they have been the victim of an error by a pharmacist or pharmacy it would be prudent to contact an experienced attorney who can listen to your story and investigate circumstances of your situation.

The Law Firm of Lazarus and Lazarus has earned an excellent reputation over many years for representing victims of pharmacy errors and obtaining reasonable and proper compensation for their damages, pain, and injuries. A call to their office in Fort Lauderdale at 954-356-0666 will put you in contact with Mr. Gary Lazarus or his law partner Ms. Arleen Lazarus.