When someone is admitted to the hospital, they generally have a dedicated team of doctors and nurses attending to their every need. Hospital staff is in charge of writing prescriptions, filling them, and then administering the medication to the patient. However, the transitional period following a patient’s discharge from the…
When most people think of a pharmacy error, they picture it occurring in a retail pharmacy or a pharmacy located in the back of a grocery store. However, a significant portion of the millions of pharmacy errors that occur each year nationwide happen in a hospital setting. One may think that…
When most people think of a pharmacy error, they think of a retail pharmacist providing the wrong drug to a patient who then takes it up to the register, checks out, and goes home to take the medication in their own home. However, this only accounts for a portion of…
Earlier last month, a new study was released that claims post-operation medication errors can occur in as many as one in every two patients. According to one local news source that covered the new study, the study was performed at Massachusetts General Hospital and looked at roughly 275 surgeries. The…
Earlier this month in Oregon, a jury awarded a man’s personal representative $12.2 million for the man’s injuries, which included severe brain damage after he was administered a dose that was 15 times stronger than prescribed. According to one local news report, the alleged medical malpractice took place back in 2011,…
Back in 2006, Christopher Jerry lost his daughter when she died in a hospital after being provided an improperly dosed IV prepared by a hospital pharmacist. According to one recent news article, Jerry has since become an advocate to fix the errors he claims are inherent in the flawed system…
Earlier this month, a local Canadian news source published an article about a hospital that admittedly provided substandard medical care to a patient but has since made serious efforts to provide better care. According to the report, the efforts were in response to the death of an 85-year-old patient who…
The VA is getting some heat for the negligent filling of veterans’ prescriptions. According to a recent report by the Washington Times, one VA employee was terminated from his employment and in response filed an appeal, claiming that any errors he may have made were made by others in the…
At the Children’s Medical Center in Dallas, Texas, 10 full-time pharmacists have been brought on to the staff to help combat medication errors in the emergency room. According to a recent report by NPR, the hospital views the addition of the pharmacists as a vital safety net. As one emergency…
Physicians and nurses owe a duty to all of their patients to administer the proper medication and provide a certain basic level of medical care. Most of the time, physicians do the best job they can making sure that the sick are well cared for, but on occasion a lapse…