Category: <span>Prescription Errors</span>

Pharmacy Errors

We all know the routine. You visit your doctor and before you leave you are handed a prescription for a medication to take to the pharmacy. Many doctors today can send the prescription by computer direct to your pharmacy and that makes life a little easier but you still need to stop at the pharmacy on the way home.

What if doctors were to fill your prescription right in their office?

One issue with going to the pharmacy routine is that some people never go. A study revealed that 20-30% of all prescriptions are never filled. The reasons for this could include forgetfulness, cost, or just apathy, and it’s a serious issue.

If a doctor gives a patient a prescription and it is never filled, the doctor will usually assume the patient is taking it. If something happens, a physician will not be able to thoroughly understand what’s happening with the patient and why certain symptoms are present or missing. It is very important to take medications as prescribed and always carry a list of all medications including dosages with you in case of emergency.

Getting the medication into the patient’s hands as quickly as possible is definitely an advantage of in-office dispensing. Another advantage is communication. Patients would probably be more inclined to take a few minutes to speak with their doctor or nurse about how and when to take the medication, and ask questions about side effects.

People who favor doctor dispensing also claim that privacy, accuracy, and convenience are also benefits.

Pharmacies obviously would not favor increased doctor dispensing of prescription medication because they would lose business, and they claim that costs would rise dramatically. Pharmacies feel they do a good job filling prescriptions accurately and making sure they watch for any negative drug combinations that could cause issues for patients. However, several studies and investigations including one by the Chicago Tribune found that pharmacies actually make many errors.

Forbes magazine recently reported an incident where several people received injections of insulin instead of a flu shot. It happened at a facility, not at a pharmacy but the injections were administered by a pharmacist.

Whether a patient gets medications from their physician or their local pharmacy the important thing is that they receive the medicine they are supposed to take. Pharmacy errors have included putting the wrong medication in the bottle, or incorrect dosages and these mistakes can cause serious injury or death.

The Law Firm of Lazarus and Lazarus has been helping victims of prescription injuries since 1992. These cases involves a special level of expertise and victims should seek a personal injury attorney with experience. Please call Gary and Arleen Lazarus at (954) 356-0006 and we will listen to you, then recommend the best course of action if you believe you may be a victim of pharmacy errors or if your physician may have made a mistake in your treatment.

Have you ever tried to pronounce the names of some prescription medications? They’re not only hard to say, many of them are spelled similarly and yet their applications and effects can be completely different. Errors in medications happen thousands of times all across country, usually because of a mix-up at a pharmacy, but they also happen in hospitals and clinics.

Take the case of a patient in Tennessee who was treated at Vanderbilt University Medical Center being treated for a subdural hematoma in December 2017. The patient was improving with treatment and was supposed to receive an injection of a sedative called Versed, a standard anti-anxiety medication. The precise events that unfolded are not completely clear yet, but it seems that the nurse who administered the injection used an electronic prescribing cabinet and actually gave the patient a syringe containing vecuronium. Vecuronium is one drug that is often used to cause death in prisoners sentenced to be executed by lethal injection.

The patient at Vanderbilt hospital died, and the investigation centers not only on the mix-up with the medication but also on a possible cover-up after the fact.

It’s obvious to anyone who has ever visited a hospital that they are very hectic places. Hundreds of patients, dozens of doctors, thousands of drugs, tests, and treatments, and yet somehow all the elements seem to come together in a controlled chaos to heal most people and send them back to their normal lives. Hospitals have procedures in place to check and double-check medications, but a mistake can have dangerous or fatal consequences, as described above.

Studies have shown that of all the situations where errors in pharmaceutical medications may occur, it is at the time of patient discharge that most mistakes are made.

When sent home from the hospital it is common to leave with several new prescriptions from more than one physician, or physician’s assistant. When this happens you may wonder about the directions for these new medications, and you’ll possibly not be clear about your current ones. This is the time to stop and ask for help!

Fact: After discharge, medication errors are the leading cause of patient adverse events.

Everyone should keep a current list of all medications, including non-prescription, along with dosages, and then set aside time to ask their doctor and pharmacist if everything lines up properly with what is best for their situation. Make sure there aren’t any potential adverse reactions or side effects which may cause harm.

If you have possibly been harmed because of a mistake with medications, you have rights. Medical negligence and malpractice are serious issues and need to be handled by skilled and experienced professionals who know what steps to take. Call us at (954) 356-0006 for a free and confidential consultation.

We have focused a major portion of our law practice on helping the victims of prescription errors and also on nursing home negligence. Sometimes there are medication errors occurring inside nursing homes and other care facilities, and the friends and families of the victims don’t know where to turn. We’ll start with some facts:

• State and Federal laws actually consider a percentage of prescription medication errors to be “acceptable” and even though nursing homes and other care facilities are inspected regularly, little is done when mistakes exceed the allowed level.

• Often, mistakes are self-reported, so it’s not known if every error is making it into the records.

• Most people are not aware that information about care facilities is available online, and ratings and inspection reports are available for review.

• People are also unaware of the warning signs for prescription-related sicknesses and injuries and how to look for them.

The Florida Agency for Health Care Administration recently issued this statement:

In addition to the requirement that nursing homes shall not have medication errors of 5% or greater, each nursing home must provide pharmaceutical services to ensure accurate administration of medications. This includes the participation of a pharmacist consultant who helps develops and monitors processes within the facility to ensure resident do receive the correct medications.

We believe 0% is an acceptable number of medication errors because of the serious harm that a patient may experience if given the wrong medication, or an over-dose, or medication is not administered at all.

Warning Signs: If you have a loved one currently in a care facility in Florida, it would be a good idea when you visit to ask questions about the dispensing of drugs. Ask about the procedures for giving drugs to patients and how the records are kept. Watch for changes in the patient with regard to their alertness, energy level, skin color, and balance. If there is a sudden change in any physical characteristic at all, ask questions. Also, look into their eyes when you visit and watch for any changes. Dilated or constricted pupils can be a sign something is wrong. We’re not suggesting you do the job of a doctor, but try to be aware of anything unusual.

Also, there is a website that offers details about all the health care facilities in Florida, as well as information on doctors. Please click here to find information on facilities, and click here to verify the license of an individual doctor, nurse, or other health care professional.

Doctors, pharmacies, and pharmacists make mistakes. When they do it can cause serious injury, pain, and suffering. Victims have rights, and they can take action to be compensated for the mistakes made by others. If you have questions, we’re here to help. Call us at 954-356-0006.

In most workplaces a small error doesn’t cause a problem, but at the pharmacy it may jeopardize someone’s life. A recent case involved a woman who was scheduled for an MRI examination. Her physician prescribed a mild medication to calm her nerves because she gets claustrophobic, but what was supposed to be 1/4 milligram dose was dispensed from the pharmacy at 2 full milligrams and the patient passed out during the test. Paramedics were summoned and they were able to revive her after some time.

Another situation was a name mix-up. A man who thought he was picking up a muscle relaxant actually received a bag with pills intended for a man with the exact same name. The man went home and began taking pills intended to treat a psychological issue, and he attempted suicide. Fortunately he survived and is suing the pharmacy for the error.

And in a move that could cause even more errors and mix-ups, there are more companies moving into online prescription ordering and fulfillment, including Amazon. CBS Miami recently reported on the growing trend, and a professor of pharmacology at FIU said “Almost 50% of patients take their medication incorrectly and that causes emergency room visits,” she told CBS4 Anchor Lauren Pastrana. “Over 3.5 million physician office visits (happen) yearly due to medication-related problems.”

All the publicity about these serious mistakes has prompted more training for pharmacists and pharmacy techs, and internal policies and procedures have been tightened according to the major pharmacy chain stores, but the problems are not going away.

There is a reason for the consultation window at the pharmacy but it seems that few people take advantage of it. We strongly advise everyone to closely examine their prescriptions before leaving the pharmacy. Ask the pharmacist to come to the window and check the name, the medicine, the doctor, the dosage, and the instructions. The few extra minutes it takes to do this may save you from being seriously hurt or worse by a pharmacy error.

If you ever have any confusion whatsoever about a pill or pills that you can’t identify, and you’re not sure if it’s the right one, return to the pharmacy and ask.

The Law Firm of Lazarus and Lazarus has been helping people who are victims of either doctor or pharmacist mistakes regarding prescription medications for over 20 years. We also handle cases where people are hurt due to a problem with the drug because of harmful side effects. We are very experienced investigating cases to find the cause of problems whether it is a pharmacist, pharmacy, doctor, hospital, or drug company and we get the facts and answers needed to proceed with whatever action is necessary to protect our clients.

Call us any time at 954-356-0006 if you have questions. We’re here to help.

Today’s pharmacies are busy places. Thousands of incoming orders and outgoing medications, it’s difficult to find data on what the exact volume is. But if you’ve been to your local pharmacy recently, you know it’s a lot.

Some states have proposed limiting the number of prescriptions that can be filled per pharmacist, but there is little control over that type of system. Reality is that most prescription orders are actually filled by the technicians and “verified” by the pharmacist. Most patients are at the mercy of “the system” which includes all your information being kept in a computer database, and this is where you can take steps to at least make sure they have accurate information.

It’s probably not a good idea to use more than one pharmacy for your medications. The reason is that pharmacy computer where you order your medications keeps a list of all your medications and this way they are able to check for the potential for adverse reactions. If you are frequenting pharmacies that data is probably not shared.

So, many health care specialists recommend you do a pharmacy check-up at least twice a year. This means setting aside some time to ask your pharmacist to verify the information in their computer system as accurate and up-to-date. You should always have a list of exactly what medications you are taking and what the dosage is. Verify all this with your pharmacist. When anything changes, let them know immediately.

If you stop taking a particular medication, you should notify your pharmacist so they can remove it as being a “current” medication. We are at the mercy of the system in many respects, so we have to work with it and do our best to make sure the information is accurate.

Every time you drop off your prescriptions:

• Tell your pharmacist all the medications and over-the-counter drugs you take – especially those vitamins and herbal remedies purchased at health food or grocery stores, nutrition or smoothie shops. Your pharmacist has references that identify potential drug interactions.
• Confirm that the computer has your current prescription benefit information, allergies and/or drug intolerances, and phone number.
• Find out how many refills you can get. Make sure that your physician has provided enough refills until your next visit. Prescriptions and refills are only valid for one year.

Each time you pick up your prescriptions:

• Confirm the drug is correct at the pharmacy counter. Compare the instructions given by your physician to the drug name on the pharmacy label.
• Open the bottle and look at the medications to confirm that the medications are imprinted with the correct drug name and strength. If there is no imprint, ask the pharmacist technician or the pharmacist to show you the bottle from which the medication was dispensed for comparison. Also learn what your medications look like if you take them over a period of time.
• Liquids usually have a unique scent. Learn to recognize your liquid medications by smell.
• Confirm the dosage is correct. Compare the instructions given by your physician to the instructions on the pharmacy label.
• Pediatric medications are at high risk for dosage errors. Most drugs’ dosages are based on weight. Confirm your child’s medication dose with your child’s doctor and/or pharmacist.

Every patient should try to play a role in the system by being inquisitive. Ask questions and verify everything. If you feel confused and don’t believe you can adequately do these things, ask for help. If a pharmacist or pharmacy tech won’t give you the time to properly explain things to you, ask the store manager. If you’re not satisfied, you may want to try a different pharmacy. And you can always ask your doctor for help, or the staff.

No system is perfect, but today’s prescription medication process is so stressed with high volume and multiple drugs that mistakes are common. Working with patients who are victims of pharmacy errors has been a special area of focus for our law practice for many years. It is a complex area and requires extensive knowledge of drugs and procedures used by physicians and pharmacies. If you believe you may have been made sick because of a pharmacy error, you should give us a call and tell us your circumstances. We are here to help. 954-356-0006.