South Florida Prescription Error Attorneys
| Arleen Lazarus | 0 Comments | Covid-19 Pharmacy Errors | , ,

Understaffed Pharmacies and Overworked Pharmacists Endanger Patients

Pharmacy Error Risks are Increased During Covid-19 Crisis

South Florida Prescription Error Attorneys

Pharmacy Negligence AttorneysYou may have noticed your local pharmacy is busier than ever since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. Many patients have felt it necessary to stock up on medications and some have started buying more supplements and other products related to abating the virus.

Operational changes at pharmacies have included new procedures for patient contact and the handling of medications and many pharmacies have taken on the responsibility of administering vaccines. These changes can only serve to add stress to already-overworked pharmacists and technicians.

Trying to get some one-on-one time with a pharmacist to discuss possible interactions with other drugs and supplements or pain medications is difficult if not impossible.

Prescription mistakes are among the most common of all medical errors.

Some common reasons for prescription errors are:

  • Prescriptions are transmitted orally and different drug names sound alike.
  • Prescription is not transmitted or is transmitted erroneously from prescriber to pharmacy.
  • Entering incorrect information into a computer during the prescribing and dispensing process.
  • Patient given the wrong medication.
  • Patient given the wrong dose of the right medication.
  • Filling a prescription incorrectly.
  • Patient given medication they are allergic to.
  • Patient given medication that dangerously interacts with their existing medications.
  • Failing to provide a patient with sufficient information so they can understand the effects of the medication they are taking.

Many people are opting to have their medications delivered to their homes and that rules out the opportunity for an in-person consult with the pharmacist so we encourage patients to at least call and try to speak with their doctor to verify the medications, dosages, and directions are correct.

The Law Firm of Lazarus and Lazarus has been helping people who are harmed because of the mistakes, negligence, or malpractice of pharmacists, technicians, and pharmacies since 1992. We are committed to helping our clients recover from any and all damage done by medical errors.

We are available 7 days a week by calling (954) 356-0006

South Florida Prescription Error Attorneys

Prescription Errors South Florida Covid-19
| Arleen Lazarus | 0 Comments | Prescription Errors | , ,

Covid-19-Related Chaos and Errors at the Pharmacy – Lazarus and Lazarus Law Firm

South Florida Prescription Error Attorneys

You’re running around town on a Saturday afternoon taking care of those errands you can’t attend to during the week. One of your stops is at the dry cleaners where you pick up your shirts, lightly starched, so you’ll be ready for work on Monday. When you arrive home you realize you didn’t receive your shirts, you have someone else’s laundry! Well, it’s inconvenient but it’s not the worst thing that ever happened so you return and get the right items.

One of your stops the following Saturday is the pharmacy. Surely your pharmacist is trained so well you don’t even think about a mistake with your pills. Think again.

According to the New York Times mistakes happen all too often, including these:

Edward Walker, 38, landed in an emergency room, his eyes swollen and burning after he put drops in them for five days in November 2018 to treat a mild irritation. A Walgreens in Illinois had accidentally supplied him with ear drops — not eye drops.

For Mary Scheuerman, 85, the error was discovered only when she was dying in a Florida hospital in December 2018. A Publix pharmacy had dispensed a powerful chemotherapy drug instead of the antidepressant her doctor had prescribed. She died about two weeks later.

These terrible incidents were pre-Covid-19.

Pharmacies today are busier than ever because of the sheer number of prescriptions being written for patients, and with Covid-19 pandemic people are more confused than ever about taking their Fort Lauderdale Pharmacy Negligence Attorneysmedications. At the beginning of the Covid-19 outbreak the World Health Organization issued a warning about ibuprofen (the ingredient in Advil) and warned people not to take it. Later they dropped that warning, but many people are still leery and they just don’t know what to do.

Patients are concerned and asking questions about vaccines, experimental medications, and many people are panicking when they get a mild fever because they think they might be infected with Covid-19. The volume of work for pharmacists has risen since the pandemic started and that, according to multiple studies, is what leads to more mistakes.

South Florida Prescription Error Attorneys

The Law Firm of Lazarus and Lazarus has focused on prescription errors since our beginning in 1992. South Florida is home for millions of seniors who take more prescriptions than younger people, and they are often the victims of pharmacy errors. We have always advised people to double-check their prescription medications but now with the pandemic continuing we urge people to be even more vigilant that they received the right order from their physician and that they get the proper medication and the right dosage from the pharmacy.

If you believe you have been given the wrong medication or dosage and you suffered because of that mistake, we can help. Calling us at (954) 356-0006 will put you directly in tough with Mr. Gary Lazarus or Arleen Lazarus and a free, confidential consultation can be arranged promptly.