Pharmacy Error Injury Lawyer Blog

Study Finds Frequency of Pain Relieving Medication Errors in Hospitals

February 9, 2011 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

According to a recent study in The Journal of Pain, that our prescription error attorneys based in Rockland, Maryland have been following, medication errors involving pain relievers, or analgesics, including errors made in prescribing, are a substantial contributor to adverse patient events in pain therapy that are preventable.

The study was performed in a hospital facility with 631 beds, and found that the frequency of pain medication errors in hospitals to be 3 per 1,000 prescriptions.

Researchers at the Albany Medical Center in the state of New York reportedly found in previous research that a major number of prescription analgesic errors are preventable, occurring in all stages of the prescription medication usage process, with the primary cause being prescribing errors. The researchers then combed through a large database containing prescribing errors that had been previously prevented by pharmacists in order to pinpoint the main characteristics associated with an increased risk for medication errors.

The overall drug error rate in the study was found to be 2.87 errors per 1,000 orders with a drug prescribing error rate of .63 per 1000 that was potentially serious. Error rates with analgesics were reportedly found to be higher in pediatric orders, a topic discussed in our pharmacy error injury blog from last week.

Keeping Accurate Health Records and Medication Lists Can Prevent Medical Errors

February 8, 2011 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

In a recent blog post, our Prince George’s County pharmacy error attorneys recently discussed the importance for individuals to communicate more effectively with their doctors and pharmacists, to promote the safe and effective use of drug therapy and reduce the risk of medication error.

Every year, according to research by the Institute of Medicine, 1.5 million people are injured by medication-related events. According to the APhA, an important step for medication error prevention is for individuals to carry accurate health records and current lists of prescription medication with them to show doctors and pharmacists that include the medications, the dosage, and the health conditions that the medication is treating.

The APhA claims that patient medication lists reduce the risk of medication duplication, incorrect dosages, pharmacy misfill, and other harmful drug side effects that could come from dangerous interactions. All patient allergies should also be clearly stated on the list, along with any other important information that could prevent medication error by providing emergency staff and pharmacists with important information that could be lifesaving.

The APhA also recommends that patients get to know their pharmacists, as next to doctors, pharmacists are the second most trusted medication experts and providers of healthcare needs.

In an earlier blog post our attorneys suggested other steps to take to reduce the risk of medication error injuries from pharmacy misfill or error:

Dangerous Safeway Pharmacy Mix-up Gives Pregnant Woman Wrong Medication

February 5, 2011 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

In recent news that our pharmacy misfill injury attorneys in Washington, D.C. have been following, a medication error occurred in a local pharmacy, after a pregnant woman in Colorado was mistakenly given the incorrect medication for another patient who had a similar sounding name.

According to KDVR-TV, Mareena Silva, who is six weeks pregnant, went to Safeway to pick up her antibiotics and was mistakenly given the prescription for Maria Silva, containing Methotrexate, a medication reportedly used to treat cancer.

By the time Silva realized the pharmacy misfill, she had already reportedly taken the first pill. Silva reportedly rushed back to Safeway, where the pharmacist recommended that she throw the pill up, as it had been 30 minutes since she took the medication. Her doctor then sent an ambulance to Safeway.

Methotrexate, the drug Silva took due to the prescription mix-up, can reportedly cause birth defects in an unborn baby. The drug is also reportedly used to cause abortions in pregnancies that are troubled. The manufacturer also warns that there have been reported deaths linked to the incorrect administration of this drug.

After picking up what she thought was the antibiotic, the pharmacist reportedly even stated that the prescribed drug was not good for a pregnant woman. What Silva didn’t realize at the time is that the pharmacist was talking about the Methotrexate.

Study Finds Small Doses of Drugs From Syringes Could Cause Medication Error in Children

February 4, 2011 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

As our Baltimore County pharmacy error attorneys discussed in a recent blog, according to a recent study by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), medical errors are a leading cause of personal injury and death in this country, and rates for possible adverse drug events were three times higher with children than adults in hospitals, with an even higher rate for infants in intensive care units.

In a new study, published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal, a report found that preparing small medication dosages from syringes for infants and children can be dangerously inaccurate and cause medication dosing errors.

According to the report, in administering potent drugs to young patients, small doses are often prepared from medication stock of less than 0.1 milliliter (mL) in size, but the current equipment used to administer the drug does not allow for the correct and accurate measuring of drug volumes that are less than 0.1 mL.

Dr. Christopher Parshuram, the author of the study, who works in the University of Toronto’s Department of Pediatrics and directs the University of Toronto Center for Patient Safety’s Pediatric Patient Safety Research, stated that medications regularly requiring small doses include narcotics and sedatives that are extremely powerful, such as morphine and fentanyl—both drugs that as our Maryland medication error attorneys have reported in a recent blog, have a high-risk for medication mistakes which could lead to patient injury or wrongful death.

FDA Reports on Fatal Morphine Oral Solution Medication Errors

January 26, 2011 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

According to a recent report from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that our Washington D.C. medication error lawyers have been following, a morphine solution that was approved by the administration last year, has been linked to a series of morphine overdoses and deaths due to medication error—leading federal regulators to issue a warning and initiate a label change to prevent personal injury or death.

The FDA’s recent notification to the health care industry and consumers reported on the overdoses and deaths that have occurred as a result of morphine sulfate oral solution medication errors, most of which are linked to the high potency (100 mg per 5mL) product, where solutions ordered in milligrams (mg) were erroneously mistaken for milliliters (mL) of the drug, causing fatal overdoses.

When milligrams (mg) are misread and confused for milliliters (mL), the patient dosage could reportedly be as high as 20 times stronger than the dosage intended for the patient, which could result in a drug overdose. Other medication mistakes were reportedly caused by confusion in medication dosage, and understanding the morphine concentration in the oral solution.

As our medication mistake attorneys in Baltimore, Maryland have reported in a related blog, according to the Institute of Medicine’s (IOM), 1.5 million people are injured by preventable medication errors every year, with 98,000 annual deaths from medical errors—7,000 of which are due to medication mistakes.

The morphine sulfate oral solution is manufactured by Roxane Laboratories, Inc., and is used to tread moderate to severe chronic and acute pain with patients who are opioid-tolerant. In a blog from this week, our attorneys discussed the danger associated with an incorrect administration of a powerful prescription pain medication and the prevalence of fatal medication overdoses with patients who are opioid-intolerant and are erroneously prescribed these medications.

ISMP—Prescribing Fentanyl Pain Medication for Short-Term Pain Be Deadly

January 25, 2011 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

In a recent blog, our Baltimore County pharmacy misfill attorneys discussed the prevalence of medication error cases resulting from the incorrect administration of the strong pain relieving medication Fentanyl, also called Duragesic—that if used erroneously can lead to a drug overdose and even wrongful death.

According to a recent article by Michael Cohen, president of the Institute for Safe Medication Practices, (ISMP), Fentanyl is around 100 times more powerful than morphine and for that reason should only be prescribed to people with chronic and long-term pain, like cancer patients, who are opiod-tolerant from already taking heavy prescription narcotics, or opioids, for one week or longer. As Cohen describes, Fentanyl is effective for three days, keeping patients with long-term pain from having to medicate repeatedly during the day.

As our Baltimore, Maryland medication error attorneys reported in a related blog, Fentanyl should only be used with patients who are opioid-tolerant because even the lowest strength Fentanyl patches have the ability to cause major side effects, like breathing difficulties, which can lead to wrongful death. According to the 2007 FDA warning, the Fentanyl patch should not be used with patients who are not opioid-tolerant.

Cohen explains that patients who are opioid tolerant and tolerant of other prescription pain medications have less of a chance of experiencing breathing difficulty when using a Fentanyl patch that is properly prescribed, as stopped breathing is often what kills patients in an overdose. According to Cohen, the big medication mistake currently being made by doctors is using Fentanyl to treat pain post-surgery pain, called acute postoperative pain, which should be treated by using other painkillers.

The ISMP has reportedly been receiving fatality reports since the drug has been introduced, but September of last year proved to be a devastating month for Fentanyl medication overdoses, as three tragic deaths occurred after patients were given Fentanyl by their doctors erroneously, with doses that were too high, at 50mcg/hour.

Pharmacy, Nursing Home Sued After Pharmacy Misfill Leads to Resident’s Death

January 7, 2011 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

In recent news that our Washington D.C. pharmacy error attorneys have been following, a nursing home was fined $12,000 last month, after a pharmacy misfill caused a nursing home resident to receive the incorrect medication for 18 days, leading to her wrongful death.

The Auburn Citizen reports that according to an investigation by the New York State Health Department in March and April of 2009, Geraldine Burke, a 94-year-old resident, was given tablets of a blood pressure medicine and diuretic by three different nurses in the Cayuga County Nursing Home, instead of the thyroid medication she had been prescribed.

The tragic medication error reportedly happened as a result of a pharmacy misfill, where a technician at HealthDirect, a separate division of Kinney Drugs that provides pharmacy services for more than 100 facilities, had filled and shipped the wrong medication for Burke. The two medications reportedly had similar looking names—methimazole and metolazone—a common medication mistake that plagues pharmacies in this country, as our lawyers have reported in a recent blog.

Neither the pharmacy or the nursing home recognized the mistake, and Burke was given 11 doses of Metolazone, the diuretic. The autopsy reportedly found that Burke died from heart issues, that were a result of kidney failure, worsened by the diuretic, along with other conditions. When the facility discovered the medication error after her death, they reported it to the Health Department, where they were fined $12,000. Burke’s family sued Cayuga County for negligence, and in turn Cayuga sued HealthDirect for their pharmacy misfill.

A Pharmacy’s Guide to Medication Therapy Management

January 6, 2011 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

In a recent blog, our pharmacy misfill error injury attorneys in Baltimore, Maryland discussed the importance of medication therapy management (MTM) check-ups with a pharmacist, to avoid medication error, pharmacy misfill, and potentially dangerous drug mix-ups that can lead to patient injury or even wrongful death.

The goal of an MTM is to get the maximum benefit from a patient’s prescription medication, and to have the opportunity to ask the pharmacist questions, as one would talk with their doctor, to avoid any medication error, possible side effects or problems with single or multiple medications.

People who reportedly benefit from consulting a pharmacist about medication management are:

• Patients taking medication for more than one chronic condition such as diabetes, depression, asthma, or high blood pressure.
• Patients who are taking one drug with potentially risky side effects, such as the blood thinner warfarin, or medication for seizures.

• Patients who have a hard time following a medication schedule, who forget to take their medicine, or skip them because they are experiencing side effects.

When attending an MTM, Family members or care givers are recommended to join the patient, and patients are advised to bring all medication with them, and if diabetic, their blood-glucose meter along as well. An MTM meeting is recommended once a year, unless the patient is prescribed a new medication and experiencing troubling side effects, a possible medication error, or if the patient is having monthly scheduled meetings the pharmacist.

Man Died from Overdose of Fentanyl—Widow Sues Center for Medication Error

January 4, 2011 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Last year, our Baltimore medication error attorneys reported on two cases involving alleged overdoses of the powerful pain medication Fentanyl—one blog discussed a wrongful death lawsuit, where an 68-year-old died after allegedly receiving an incorrect dosage of the potent pain killer, and another blog discussed an overdose of duragesic pain patches, where a care center staff reportedly failed to follow the doctor’s prescription and wait 72 hours before increasing the pain dosage, which also led to a fatal overdose.

In recent news, the widow of a man from Illinois is suing a local pain treatment center for the wrongful death of her husband, due to a medication error of Fentanyl, administered through a SynchroMedII pump. According to Sue Daniels, her husband Tony was admitted in December 2009 to the Piasa Pain Center and was given an incorrect dosage of Fentanyl, which caused him to overdose from the medication error and led to his death. When Daniels became unresponsive from the overdose, he was transferred to Alton Memorial Hospital. Sue claims that the Fentanyl injections caused him to suffer from severe brain damage and lung injuries. He died two years later.

Sue Daniels accuses the pain center of negligence for administering the lethal dosage of pain medication, and blames the managers of the pain center for failure to properly train the medical staff on how to use the equipment. Alton hospital is also named in the suit for not treating Daniels fast enough after the overdose, and for running the Piasa Pain clinic that reportedly administered prescription drug error. Medtronic is also listed as a defendant for manufacturing a pain pump that is allegedly defective.

Sue Daniels is asking for over $500,000 in damages for medical bills, court costs, pain and suffering.

The opioid fentanyl is a narcotic used for patients who are opioid-tolerant from using another potent narcotic pain medication for a week or more. The opioid-tolerant patients are often prescribed Fentanyl when they need an even stronger narcotic for strong pain relief. Fentanyl is only recommended for patients who are opioid-tolerant, as even the lowest strength fentanyl patch has the ability to cause severe side effects, and even wrongful death, according to the FDA. The FDA does not recommend fentanyl patch usage with patients who are not opioid-tolerant—as the warning stated in 2007.

Medication Therapy Management and the Prevention of Medication Error

December 28, 2010 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

According to the American Pharmacists Association (APhA), medication-related events are a massive problem to this country’s public health and well being. As our Baltimore medication error injury attorneys have reported in a related blog, according to the APhA, 1.5 million people are injured by medication errors every year, that cost around $177 billion in personal injury and death, and could be preventable.

Ed Webb, associate executive director of the American College of Clinical Pharmacy, recently stated that prescribed medication is only beneficial if taken correctly, and if medication therapy is not managed well, it can do harm. Webb, along with other experts, recommends medication checkups, known in the business as medication therapy management, or MTM.

As our Baltimore pharmacy error attorneys also discussed recently in a blog, more and more people are being encouraged to make appointments with their pharmacists as well as their doctors to discuss the medications that they take in an effort to prevent medication error, pharmacy misfill or patient injury.

Patients reportedly often end up saving money when meeting with pharmacists, by switching prescriptions to generic drugs instead of brand-name, or dropping medications that they may no longer need. Other patients are often able to eliminate medication side effects with help from a pharmacist on the best time to take the medication, possibly changing to a different drug, or avoiding a potentially dangerous mix-up of drugs, which can lead to expensive trips to urgent care or emergency rooms and result in personal injury.