Earlier this month, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced a warning regarding the confusing packaging on the intravenous antibacterial drug Avycaz. According to one industry news source, the announcement was made after there were several reports of errors made in the dosing of the drug to patients. Evidently, the…
Earlier this month, a study was released in the American Journal of Health Systems Pharmacy that looked at error rates in hospital pharmacies. Specifically, the study considered the link between the number of incoming orders over the course of a given shift and the prescription error rate. Not surprisingly, the…
Earlier this month, a prescription drug designed and marketed for the treatment of some kinds of cancer, including brain cancer, was recalled because a number of the bottles that contained the drug had faulty caps. According to one industry news report, the caps of approximately 1,100 bottles of the prescription…
Picking up a prescription at the local pharmacy is something almost everyone has the occasion to do at some point in their life. In fact, many people pick up multiple prescriptions per month. Picking up a prescription that was provided or filled in error seems to many to be one…
Whenever a pharmacist is filling a prescription, if there is the potential that the medication they are providing to a patient may have an adverse interaction with another medication, should be taken with specific instructions, or is otherwise potentially dangerous, an alert will pop up on the pharmacist’s screen. However,…
Over-the-counter and prescription medications are used by almost everyone to treat medical conditions from time to time. Often, these medications are powerful drugs that if used properly can have miraculous effects, curing or minimizing the symptoms or causes of a disease. However, they can also do great harm if abused…
Earlier this month, the FDA issued a prescription-drug watch surrounding the anti-bacterial drug, Zerbaxa. According to a recent report by Pharmacy Practice News, the FDA’s warning was based around the fact that the dosing information on the label of Zerbaxa cartons was confusing and not uniform with other prescription drugs,…
Earlier this month in Orlando, Florida, a woman collapsed and was admitted to the hospital after she was given a dose of medication by her pharmacist that was ten-times stronger than prescribed by her doctor. According to a recent report by one local Florida news source, the woman was filling…
Pharmacies are businesses. And, like all businesses, the number one goal of a pharmacy is to remain profitable. Of course, most pharmacists are good people and truly care about their patients. However, the pharmacists are rarely the ones making the staffing policies that can lead to pharmacy errors. It has…
Pharmacists are charged with a very important duty in our society: to verify and fill prescriptions issued by physicians and to answer any patient questions that may arise. In addition, pharmacists are a second line of defense against physician error, checking prescriptions against other medications that the patient is taking.…