Over the past few years, local Maryland pharmacies have seen a gradual increase in the number of prescriptions that are filled each year. However, pharmacies have been slow to adjust the number of pharmacists with this increase in demand. As a result, pharmacists are dealing with increased workloads. For quite…
Articles Posted in Common Errors
Maryland Pharmacy Errors Occurring at the Drive-Up Window
As pharmacies have become busier and busier over the past few decades, many suburban pharmacies have begun to offer drive-up service. For many busy patients, drive-up windows are a convenient way to drop off or pick up prescriptions, voiding the need to park and get out of the car. However,…
Many Maryland Pharmacy Errors May Be Linked to Electronic Prescribing
Over the past few decades, the demand placed on Maryland pharmacies has skyrocketed. The workload of the average pharmacist has correspondingly increased. In an attempt to keep the system working efficiently, pharmacies have begun to rely more and more on technology to help with filling prescriptions. This includes checking for…
Maryland Pharmacy Error Reporting Requirements
Medication errors are believed to be one of the leading causes of death across the United States. Indeed, there have been countless studies focusing on the causes of pharmacy errors and the best ways to reduce them. However, the fact remains that medication errors result in over 3.5 million hospitalizations…
Maryland Medication Errors Involving Similarly Named Drugs
Pharmacy errors can be the result of any number of failures in the medication delivery system. More often than not, however, Maryland pharmacy errors are the result of human error. One of the most commonly cited causes of prescription drug errors is when a pharmacist provides a patient with a…
The High Frequency of Maryland Medication Errors
Medication errors are estimated to affect over 7 million people per year. While many of these errors do not result in patient hospitalization or even patient injury, the fact is that medication errors are a very real threat and patients should double-check all prescriptions for errors before taking any medication.…
Recent Study Finds Older People Are at a Higher Risk of Experiencing a Medication Error in Maryland and Throughout the Country
Medical errors rate among the top causes of death in the United States each year. Among the main contributors to this category are prescription errors and other medication errors. While the exact number of pharmacy errors is not known due to lax reporting requirements, it is estimated that there are…
Court Rejects Defendant’s Claim that Plaintiff’s Case Was Filed Too Late
After any Maryland pharmacy error, one of the first things to consider is when a claim must be filed. A plaintiff’s failure to file a lawsuit within the allowable time will likely result in the dismissal of the claim. In a recent decision in a pharmacy error case, the judge…
As Pharmacies Stop Offering Free Delivery of Medication, Errors May Increase in Maryland and throughout the US
Over the past decade, many pharmacies began to offer free shipping to encourage patients to order their prescriptions online, over the phone, or through the mail. It seems pharmacies hoped that by decreasing foot traffic in their brick-and-mortar locations, they would be able to reduce their labor costs and run…
The Dangers of Pharmacists Double-Filling a Patient’s Prescription
This blog has covered a number of the common causes of Maryland pharmacy errors in hopes of increasing patient awareness. One common cause of pharmacy errors that has not recently been discussed is when a patient’s prescription is filled multiple times. Most often, these errors are the results of two…