Pharmacy Mistakes

Pharmacy errors and prescription errors can cause tragic personal injury and wrongful death. If you or a loved one has suffered from a pharmacy or prescription error, you may be entitled to compensation for your injury. You need a personal injury lawyer experienced with pharmacy and prescription cases.

A medical error like medical malpractice occurs when a doctor or a nurse makes a mistake while treating a patient, an example would be a "botched surgery". However, there are many other types of mistakes made while treating patients, including mistakes in prescribing and filling patient prescriptions.

A problem that is becoming more common is pharmacy errors or prescription errors. Medical malpractice statistics on pharmacy errors show as many at 98,000 people die every year from medical and medication errors. One study reported that as many as five percent of prescriptions filled each year are incorrect. Children are most at risk. The medical statistics show the potential for adverse drug events in children to be three times higher than for adults. These statistics show the potential to be even higher for babies in neonatal units.

Patient prescription errors, vaguely referred to as "adverse drug events," "prescription errors", or pharmacy errors, occur frighteningly often. Medical malpractice statistics have shown that doctors make about four prescription mistakes for every thousand prescriptions written. These statistics mean that many of us will be victims of prescription errors, or pharmacy errors at some time during our lives.

Many prescription errors (pharmacy errors) cause no lasting harm, but some prescription errors lead to a serious illness or death. The personal injury caused by incorrect prescriptions result in patients having to stay in the hospital for a longer period of time and also cause thousands of dollars of unnecessary medical bills, not to mention the pain and suffering inflicted on a patient.

Although the stereotype is that doctors have terrible handwriting, the most common cause of prescription errors is the doctors' failure to educate themselves about the medicines being prescribed. Common prescription errors include: (1) failing to adjust the medication dosage to reflect changes in the patient's condition; (2) prescribing a drug that the patient's medical history shows he or she is allergic to; (3) prescribing a dosage that is too large or too small; or (4) writing the name of the wrong drug down on the prescription pad (believe it or not).

Doctors aren't the only culprits; pharmacists can also commit prescription errors by providing the patient with the wrong drug, the wrong dosage, or the wrong instructions for taking the drug, even if the doctor's prescription was correct.

Symptoms of prescription errors:

• Nausea & Vomiting
• Allergic Reaction
• Fatigue
• Dizziness
• Headaches
• Incontinence
• Cramping
• loss of consciousness
• paralysis
• stroke
• hemorrhaging
• organ failure
• death

Protect yourself from prescription and pharmacy errors:

• When you are prescribed medication, read the prescription out loud and ask the physician to confirm it.
• Verify and write down the drug's name and dosge, confirm this with your doctor.
• Use a reputable pharmacy with adequate staff. Avoid understaffed pharmacies and "internet" pharmacies.
• When picking up your prescription, verify the dosages and drug names match what you wrote down, including opening the bottle looking at the actual medication. Ask the pharmacist to verify the medication is correct.
• If you have any questions about the medication or the directions for taking it, ask the pharmacist for a detailed explanation.
• Ask for the package insert, and read it.

Common Causes of prescription and pharmacy errors:

Illegible Handwriting: A poorly written prescription by a doctor can cause the pharmacist to give the wrong medication or dosage to a patient. Likewise, when a doctor calls in a prescription to a pharmacy, the pharmacist could write the prescription poorly, resulting in a prescription error.

Incorrect dosing: Sometimes the pharmacist needs to perform mathematical calculations based on the doctor's prescription. If the calculations turn out to be incorrect, the patient is likely to be prescribed too much or too little medication.

Drug Allergies: If a doctor fails to inquire about a patients drug allergies, the patient could be prescribed a medication that he or she is allergic to. Alternatively, the pharmacist might miss or even ignore drug allergies of the patient.

Mixing up Prescriptions: In a busy pharmacy, the counter can become messy and literally littered with medications. It is not difficult for the pharmacist or pharmacy technician to place the wrong prescription in a bottle, or mix up two or more prescriptions. Prescription errors and pharmacy errors such these can happen in an extremely busy or understaffed pharmacy. Confusion over drugs with similar sounding or similarly spelled names can also result in prescription errors.

If you suspect that you or someone you know has been a victim of a pharmacy or prescription error, contact us. We will look into the circumstances, help you determine what your options are, and assist you in making a claim for the compensation you may be due.

Pharmacy Resources

NATIONAL ASSN OF BOARDS OF PHARMACY

Dangers of online pharmacies