Articles Posted in Common Errors

People who regularly take prescription medicine or have received prescription medication in a hospital or clinic setting can appreciate the vital importance of best practices when it comes to receiving the proper medicine. Every patient deserves peace of mind when it comes to their medications, and to live free of the consequences of medical and pharmaceutical malpractice. Pharmacies are increasingly short-staffed and overworked, leading to frequent errors when distributing medication. When receiving a prescription, it can be worthwhile to ask if the bottle, pills, or anything else about the order is different than usual or expected.

Incorrect or erroneous distribution or application of medications is surprisingly frequent in the United States. In fact, some sources cite a rate of one in five Americans experiencing a medical error while receiving health treatment. Unfortunately, Maryland is no exception to this trend, and Maryland residents should be aware of this issue throughout the state and the country. A recent news article discussed a medication error that left a customer in the emergency room.

The article discusses how Greenville Pharmacy in Sioux City incorrectly filled a prescription for a customer who then began taking the drug. Three weeks later, the customer was treated in the emergency room of a hospital and was then admitted for what the board says was a “life-threatening condition resulting from this medication error.” Greenville Pharmacy was charged by the Iowa Board of Pharmacy with dispensing an incorrect prescription, although the available public documents don’t indicate whether the wrong drug or wrong dosage was dispensed. The records give no indication as to whether the customer recovered. As a result of the licensing board charge, Greenville Pharmacy agreed to have its license placed on probation for two years and agreed to pay a $2,500 civil penalty. Greenville Pharmacy has been sanctioned twice before, in 2002, and in 2005, for violating a law related to the practice of pharmacy and with the intentional or repeated violation of board rules.

People who regularly take prescription medicine or have received prescription medication in a hospital or clinic setting can appreciate the vital importance of best practices when it comes to receiving the medicine. Whether it is at the pharmacy or in the hospital, it is essential to be aware of safety measures that could make a major difference in the care you receive. Every patient deserves peace of mind when it comes to their medications, and to live free of the consequences of medical and pharmaceutical malpractice.

Near-Fatal Accident Stemming From Medication Errors

Each year pharmacies make millions of medication errors, leading to unintended side effects, and even death. Recent investigations revealed that pharmacies in California alone are responsible for over five million errors annually. Each year, up to 9,000 people die from medication errors, and hundreds of thousands suffer adverse side effects from taking the wrong medication. Pharmacists report that errors are the result of large pharmacy chains pushing quotes and high sales targets while slashing staff and limiting hiring.

Impact on Patients

The impact of medication errors is severe and tangible. Last year, a CVS patient in Ohio received what he thought was ropinirole, a drug used to treat symptoms of Parkinson’s disease. He took approximately 27 tablets of the medication, experiencing severe adverse side effects, including increased anxiety, rapid heart rate, and sweating. It turned out that the bottle contained digoxin, a heart failure drug.

According to recent reporting by the Los Angeles Times, millions of medication errors occur each year, often at chain pharmacies such as CVS and Walgreens, where a pharmacist may fill hundreds of prescriptions during a shift while juggling other tasks such as giving vaccinations, calling doctors’ offices to confirm prescriptions and working the drive-through. In a recent survey of California licensed pharmacists in 2021, 91% of pharmacists working at chain pharmacies stated that staffing was insufficient to provide adequate care to patients. The state’s Board of Pharmacy, a regulatory board, requires pharmacies to document and track errors internally and inform patients about mistakes under some circumstances, only 62% of pharmacists working in chains stated that stores were following those rules according to the 2021 survey.

The article highlights how medication errors can result in dramatic health issues. One documented error resulted in the improper dose of a hormonal treatment for breast cancer being delivered. Another case resulted in a pregnant patient suffering a fall after she was given two drugs prescribed to another customer. One patient took prednisone, a powerful steroid, for 89 days after a Walgreens pharmacist confused the drug with Prilosec, the heartburn drug that had actually been prescribed. A pharmacist at CVS gave a patient another customer’s prescription for 50-milligram tablets of Zoloft, the antidepressant, according to a February citation. The person took the wrong drug for at least seven months, refilling the prescription three times.

When we visit a pharmacy to fill a prescription, we place an enormous amount of trust in the pharmacists and pharmacy technicians. We assume they will provide the correct medication in the appropriate dosage, complete with precise instructions for use. But pharmacy errors happen more frequently than one might think, and the consequences can range from minor discomfort to severe health complications, or even death.

Types of Pharmacy Errors

Wrong Medication: One of the most dangerous types of pharmacy errors is dispensing the wrong medication. With a vast array of medicines that often have similar names, this kind of error can be easily made but is wholly unacceptable.

Unfortunately, incorrect or erroneous distribution or application of medications is surprisingly present in the United States. In fact, some sources cite a rate of one in five Americans experiencing a medical error while receiving health treatment. Unfortunately, Maryland is no exception to this trend, and Maryland residents should be aware of emerging best practices in the face of the increased computerization of pharmacies and hospital medication cabinets.

Additionally, medication errors are among the most common medical errors, harming at least 1.5 million people every year. The extra medical costs of treating drug-related injuries occurring in hospitals alone are at least $3.5 billion a year, and this estimate does not take into account lost wages and productivity or additional healthcare costs, the report says. Medication error morbidity and mortality costs are estimated to run $77 billion dollars per year. Patient safety is a major public health concern.

What Are Medication Errors