Pharmacy Mistake Resources» Prescription Error Attorney Serving Philadelphia & New Jersey

Pharmacy Error Costs Nursing Home Resident His Life

admin2 — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 21:53:45 +0000

The death of a Minnesota nursing home resident in August, 2009, was due, in large part, to a pharmaceutical error. The patient was battling cancer and fungal pneumonia, both of which contributed to his death. But kidney failure caused by the administration of the wrong formulation of a prescription anti-fungal medication also played a role in his death.

The anti-fungal medication, Amphotericin, comes in four different formulations. Some more toxic to the kidneys than others, with the traditional formulation being the most toxic. Due to his fragile health, the patient was prescribed one of the three less toxic formulations. Unfortunately, the pharmacist who filled the prescription didn’t realize there were multiple formulations with varying levels of toxicity and filled the prescription with the traditional formula. The mistake went unnoticed by nursing home administrators because the prescription was mislabeled as the formula which was supposed to have been given.

After two days on the medication, the patient was rushed to a hospital suffering from kidney failure. A hospital pharmacist discovered the prescription error, but the discovery came too late to save the patient. The pharmacist who made the error now faces the potential for disciplinary action by the Minnesota Board of Pharmacy.

Prescription medications are heavily regulated, and for good reason. Medications must be administered with the utmost of care. Even seemingly minor medical or pharmaceutical errors can pose grave consequences to patients and their loved ones.
Nevertheless, mistakes like this happen all too often.

The attorneys at Pharmacy-Mistake.com have a long record of successfully representing victims of medical and pharmaceutical error. If you, or someone you know, have been injured because of being prescribed the wrong medicine, or other medical error, please contact us at Pharmacy-Mistake.com for a free consultation. Our attorneys are available to assist in all aspects of your litigation.

Wrongful Death Lawsuit Filed Against Rite Aid for Prescription Error

admin2 — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 19:23:27 +0000

The family of an Illinois man whose death was caused in part due to a prescription error in October 2007 has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Rite Aid Corporation. John Sheridan—a middle-aged gentleman with malignant melanoma—was prescribed a powerful chemotherapy drug called Temodar after the cancer spread to his brain. The Temodar was intended to slow the growth of Mr. Sheridan’s cancer and extend his life. Instead, due the error, it hastened his death.

In writing the prescription, Mr. Sheridan’s doctor mistakenly instructed him to take fourteen pills by mouth. Mr. Sheridan then had the prescription filled at a Rite Aid store and took the medication as prescribed. Unbeknownst to Mr. Sheridan, and unnoticed by the Rite Aid pharmacist, the prescribed dosage was ten times the recommended amount and twice the known lethal dose of the drug. Additionally, Temodar should be taken just once every other week, but the doctor’s instructions called for Mr. Sheridan to take it every day. The overdose caused Mr. Sheridan’s cancer to grow much more rapidly than before, leading to his death a month later.

The Sheridan family’s lawsuit alleges the Rite Aid pharmacy’s failure to recognize the doctor’s error constituted negligence on their part. The family alleges that the licensed pharmacist who filled the prescription at Rite Aid should have either recognized the flawed instructions or at least performed due diligence in filling the prescription. The doctor involved has already settled with the family rather than entering into litigation.

An estimated 7,000 Americans die each year as the result of mistakes in writing and filling prescriptions. Most of these incidents are the result of human error. It is therefore extremely important for pharmacists to use the utmost care when dispensing prescription medication. The pharmacy is usually the last interaction between patient and medical professionals prior to medications being consumed. The pharmacist is therefore the last line of defense against prescription errors made by prescribing physicians.

The administration of pharmaceuticals is a significant responsibility which must be undertaken with the utmost of care for the patient. A pharmacist should examine each prescription prior to dispensing it to the patient and discuss instructions, interactions and other pertinent information with the patient. Even seemingly minor medical or pharmaceutical errors can pose grave consequences to patients and their loved ones. But tragically, accidents which could have easily prevented occur all too often.

The Lawyers of Pharmacy-Mistake.com are experienced in the successful representation of victims of medical and pharmaceutical error. If you, or someone you know, have been injured because of taking the wrong medicine, or because of some other mistake, please contact us at Pharmacy-Mistake.com for a free consultation. Our attorneys are available to assist in all aspects of your litigation.

Error at a Walgreens Pharmacy Leads to Death of Florida Man

admin2 — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 20:57:48 +0000

A Jacksonville, Florida man who suffered from neuropathy—a condition which caused him constant neck and back pain—died of a prescription error caused by flawed instructions given to him by a pharmacist at his local Walgreens.

Terry Paul Smith, who had been taking OxyContin and Neurontin to ease his chronic pain, asked his doctor to switch prescriptions because he did not like the side-effects of those drugs. In their place, his doctor prescribed Methadone: a powerful narcotic. The doctor’s instructions called for him to take four pills, twice a day. But in filling the prescription, the pharmacist’s instructions read that he was to take four pills, as needed, with no mention of the eight-pill per day maximum. Smith died about thirty-six hours after starting to take the Methadone; an autopsy revealed his death was caused by Methadone toxicity.

This is the fourth major lawsuit resulting to deaths caused by prescription error that Walgreens has faced since 2006. In September, 2006, a man died of kidney failure after he was mistakenly given the wrong medication. In that case, it was revealed the pharmacist had been abusing prescription drugs. This past August, an award was given in the case of a forty-two year old mother who died from a stroke, caused by her prescription being ten times the strength which was prescribed. In October, a plaintiff’s verdict was handed down for a man who was not counseled about drug interactions between prescriptions he was taking. The total amount awarded to victims in these three cases comes to $65.5 million.

Walgreens is not the only pharmacy facing prescription error lawsuits. Although errors occur in a tiny fraction of the hundreds of millions of prescriptions filled each year in the U.S. this number is starting to grow. Analysts believe the problem can be attributed to the steady increase in the number of prescriptions filled annually, combined with a steady decline in the number of pharmacists. Pharmacies attempt to solve this problem by hiring pharmacy technicians—who are easier to find and who can be paid less—instead of licensed pharmacists. The problem is that these technicians have not received nearly the level of training required to be a licensed pharmacist.

With increased publicity come new safety procedures and technologies to help solve the problem of prescription error. Nevertheless, human error accounts for many of the tragedies around the U.S. Miscommunication between doctors and pharmacists, pharmacists and patients, or even patients and doctors can lead to tragic mistakes. Exhaustion also plays a role as existing pharmacists are forced to work longer hours to make up for the shortage of other in their profession. And sometimes, errors arise as a result of sheer negligence or laziness.

Prescription medication is heavily regulated, and for good reason. Many medications must be administered with the utmost of care. Failure to closely follow the instructions associated with medications can result in tragedy. Even the minor medical or pharmaceutical errors can pose grave consequences to patients and their loved ones.

New Technology May Greatly Reduce Prescription Error

admin2 — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 20:31:33 +0000

A new technology which may significantly reduce the rate of prescription error is under development. Such errors affect an estimated 1.5 million Americans each year, causing discomfort, pain, debilitating side effects and even death.

Many of these errors take the form of the wrong medications being dispensed by pharmacist, the dispensing of dosages either higher or lower than prescribed and pharmacists neglecting to warn patients about the dangers of adverse effects or reactions with other medications a patient may be taking.

In some instances, the mistake occurs because of a miscommunication between doctor and pharmacist. That was the case recently when a teenager from Kentucky was prescribed an antibiotic for an infection stemming from an ingrown toenail. The pharmacist misread the doctor’s scrawled handwriting and failed to call the doctor to confirm the prescription. As a result, the patient was given not an antibiotic, but a strong antidepressant with a similar name.

Other times, the mistake is due to negligence in filling a prescription. A pharmacist may mistakenly grab the wrong bottle of medication or mislabel a prescription. The new technology, once developed, will help prevent such mistakes on the part of the pharmacist. The pharmacist, after filling a prescription, will scan the barcode on the prescription label into a machine. The bottle will then placed into the machine, which verifies that the pills contained in the bottle are in fact what the label states they are. The machine can purportedly tell whether a pill is counterfeit as well. Counterfeit medications are a growing problem plaguing developing countries around the world.

This technology is intended not only for patient safety, but to protect against liability for pharmaceutical mistakes. Such machines may soon become an integral part of modern pharmacies as a computerized check against human error. Pharmacies that choose not to use the technology, once it becomes available, may open themselves to increased liability when they make mistakes which harms patients.

Prescription Error Endangers Schoolchildren

admin2 — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 20:30:11 +0000

A school bus driver in Georgia, who had been prescribed an antibiotic by her physician, recently nearly passed out behind the wheel of her crowded bus. Fortunately, no one was injured and she was able to radio for a substitute driver. In the following days, the driver, Gwen Dalley, continued to suffer from dizziness, nausea, headaches and blurred vision. At one point, she went to the hospital for help but the staff there were unable to determine the cause of her problems.

Continuing with her doctor’s instructions regarding the antibiotic, Dalley kept taking the pills as prescribed, until one day when she noticed that some of the pills in the bottle were larger than others. As it turns out, most of the pills provided by the pharmacy were not the prescribed antibiotics. Instead, they were a strong antidepressant which, as it turned out, was causing her symptoms.

Studies indicate nearly three percent of all prescriptions filled in the United States have potentially harmful errors. In many cases, such as this one, the wrong medication is dispensed, even though the bottle is labeled for the correct drug. Other cases involve dosages higher (or lower) than prescribed being given to patients and incorrect instructions printed on labels.

Unfortunately, many of these errors go unreported, which creates a problem in trying to correct them or to warn patients of the potential risks. In most states, the complaint process is kept confidential. The only time the information becomes public is if the state’s pharmacy board votes to publicly reprimand a pharmacy for its error. Even lawsuits are often settled confidentially, as happened in the case of Ms. Dalley. Regulators claim the problem persists because few errors are even reported to the pharmacy boards. Rather, consumers choose to file complaints with the pharmacy themselves, who in turn resolve the problem quietly in an attempt to prevent lawsuits or sanctions. The majority of errors result from human error, caused by overwork and fatigue. CVS, for example, was ordered to pay a fine of $75,000 in 2007 for employing too many technicians and not enough pharmacists.

In this case, the pharmacy’s mistake threatened the safety of a bus full of children. But even though the situation could have ended with tragic results, Ms. Dalley still suffered the consequences.

Prescription medications are heavily regulated, and for good reason. Medications must be administered with the utmost of care. Even seemingly minor pharmaceutical errors can pose grave consequences to patients and their loved ones. Nevertheless, accidents occur all too often.

Pennsylvania Pharmacist Admits Prescription Error “Happens All the Time”

admin2 — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 16:57:29 +0000

Not long ago a man visited a Sam’s Club pharmacy in western Pennsylvania to fill his prescription for Niaspan, a blood-pressure medication. Instead he was given Naproxin, a strong anti-inflammatory drug. After taking just one pill as instructed by his physician he began to feel feverish and ill. After about forty-five minutes, the man’s wife called the physician, who—believing his patient was having an adverse reaction to Niaspan—instructed the man to cease taking the pills. After examining the prescription bottle, the man’s wife discovered the error and alerted the doctor to the mix up.

When the couple contacted the pharmacy, they expected to hear an apology and an expression of concern on the part of the pharmacist. Instead, and to their horror, the pharmacist responded “Oh, this happens all the time.”

Unfortunately, he’s right. Just a few weeks ago, an eight-year old child was made severely ill when a Missouri pharmacy mistakenly gave him Methadone, a powerful narcotic, instead of Methylin, a generic form of Ritalin. And a recent study by the Ohio State University estimates nearly two-million such errors are made each year.

There are several ways these errors can arise. In the cases above, the evidence implies negligence on the part of the pharmacist. Prescription medications are usually stored alphabetically behind the pharmacy counter and it’s likely the pharmacist grabbed the wrong bottle when filling the prescription. This makes it extremely important to read prescription labels before taking medication for the first time. Make sure you’ve received the right medication that the pills in the bottle match the description provided by the pharmacist.

The administration of pharmaceuticals is a responsibility which must be undertaken with the utmost of care. Even seemingly minor medical or pharmaceutical errors can pose grave consequences to patients and their loved ones. Nevertheless, accidents occur all too often.

Hospitals Using Bar Codes to Prevent Medication Errors

admin2 — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 16:55:39 +0000

Medication and prescription errors are a major problem affecting our nation’s healthcare system. Such errors harm more than 1.5 million patients each year. But if there’s a bright side to the problem, it’s that at least half of these mistakes are preventable. Medication errors often occur due to human errors which include miscommunications, misinformation and negligence. In an effort to reduce the number of these errors, some hospitals have begun bar coding patients as they are admitted.

Patients receive wristbands with their names and other pertinent information upon arrival at the hospital. Under the new system, those wristbands now contain a bar code, which links the patient with an electronic health record. Those records contain information on the patient’s medications, including dosages and when the patient last received the medication. The hope is that an electronic record will reduce human errors inherent in handwritten medical charts, such as illegible handwriting or incorrect information.

The system is not meant be a cure-all that can eliminate all medication errors in hospitals. Rather, it’s intended as an added safety check for nurses who administer medicine according to the “five rights of medication administration.” Those rights are: the right patient; the right medicine; the right dosage; the right method of administering the medication; and the right time and frequency of administration. Scanning a patient’s bar code will alert nurses as to whether anything’s amiss in any of these areas.

The system offers other features, as well. It can keep track of what nurse administered what medications and when. And it allows nurses to set reminders and alerts for when to check a patient’s pain level and other duties pertaining to the patient. The bar coding system is just one step towards implementing an all-electronic system for hospitals. Once in place, these systems are expected to reduce or eliminate much of the human error involved in healthcare. Currently, all hospitals are required by the Food and Drug Administration to barcode the medication stored in hospital pharmacies so that medications can be tracked and recorded. By applying the same technology to patient wristbands, many medication errors could be prevented, saving countless lives and reducing patient complications.

Prescription medication is heavily regulated, and for good reason. Medications must be administered with the utmost of care. Failure to closely follow the instructions associated with medications can result in tragedy. And even seemingly minor medical or pharmaceutical errors can pose grave consequences to patients and their loved ones.

Georgia Man Given Chemotherapy Drug Instead of Prescribed Diuretic

admin2 — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 16:36:53 +0000

An error on the part of a pharmacy in Atlanta nearly led to the death of an 81-year old man. The man, Glenn Wehunt, was prescribed Metolazone, a diuretic, to reduce swelling in his legs. Instead, the pharmacy gave him Methotrexate, a powerful chemotherapy drug used to treat cancer. To make matters worse, the instructions—meant for the diuretic—had him taking massive overdoses of the medication, resulting in Mr. Wehunt taking two month’s worth of the chemotherapy drug in just eight days.

The mistake wasn’t discovered until the patient was taken to the emergency room following complications caused by the medication. In the six months since his emergency room visit, Mr. Wehunt has almost died three times. He has also lost most of his hair, requires assistance just to stand up and must now use a walker to get around.

An estimated 7,000 Americans die each year from prescription error. Many of these cases involve human error. Pharmacists misread doctors’ handwriting, carelessly (as in this case) dispense a similarly named drug or mistakenly give patients prescriptions mean for someone else. Busy pharmacists often fill hundreds of prescriptions per shift, and suffer from exhaustion which leads to mistakes.

A pharmacist should examine each prescription prior to dispensing it to the patient and then discuss the instructions, interactions and other pertinent information with the patient.

FDA Institutes “Safe Use Initiative” Program

admin2 — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 23:36:36 +0000

Each year, mistakes in prescribing, filling or taking medications send some four million Americans to the emergency room. In an effort to curb this serious problem the Food and Drug Administration is instituting a program called the Safe Use Initiative. The program will include public meetings where doctors, pharmacists, pharmaceutical companies and patients will gather to discuss the issues surrounding pharmaceutical error and to search for solutions.

One of the biggest contributors to medication error is miscommunication. Pharmacists misread doctor’s prescription instructions. Patients fail to tell doctors about prescription or over-the-counter medications they’re currently taking, which leads to adverse drug interactions. And pharmacists neglect to provide patients with adequate instructions on how to take the medications they dispense.

In one study, 70 percent of the patients surveyed were found to be taking medications they had not told their doctors about. Patients using multiple pharmacies are even more prone to prescription errors because many pharmacies do not share their prescription databases. The goal of the FDA initiative is to find ways to promote greater coordination and sharing of information between manufacturers, doctors, pharmacies and patients. Doing so will help prevent problems with adverse drug interactions, incorrect dosing, and over- or under-medication.

According to a survey of doctors, there are three steps a patient should take to help prevent medication errors. First, since many patients visit specialists in addition to their primary care physician, it’s imperative that their primary physician is aware of all the medications being prescribed to them. Second, doctors recommend that patients fill all their prescriptions at just one pharmacy, which allows their pharmacist to look for combinations that might lead to adverse interactions. Finally, patients should ask questions of both their doctors and pharmacists to ensure they fully understand what, why, when and how much they should be taking.

Patients can and should take steps to ensure their own safety and well-being regarding the medications they take. But there are many aspects of the prescription process over which patients have no control. Even seemingly minor medical or pharmaceutical errors can pose grave consequences to patients and their loved ones. Prescription medications are heavily regulated, and for good reason. Medications must be administered with the utmost of care. Nevertheless, accidents occur all too often.

Eight-Year Old Sickened after Pharmacy Refills Prescription with Methadone instead of Ritalin

admin2 — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 18:31:58 +0000

One day in early October, the mother of Preston Stephens refilled her son’s prescription for Ritalin at a local pharmacy. But instead of giving her Ritalin—meant to control his ADHD—the pharmacy mistakenly gave her a bottle of Methadone, a powerful narcotic. The pharmacy error nearly killed the eight-year old Missouri boy. After taking his first dose, he began to vomit and became extremely lethargic. Realizing something was wrong, his mother rushed her son to the local emergency room.

Upon arrival, she presented the prescription bottle to hospital staff. Even though the label indicated the pills were Ritalin, hospital staff confirmed that they were actually Methadone after running the ID number stamped on the pills through the hospital database. Preston was later released from the hospital but remains under close observation. Whether or not the pharmacy error will have long-term consequences for the boy is unclear as the narcotic is not designed for, tested on or prescribed to children.

Although the matter is still under investigation, some think the pharmacy accidentally filled the prescription bottle with Methadone pills rather than with Methylin, a generic form of Ritalin. Since the two medications would be sitting near or next to each other on alphabetically arranged pharmacy shelves, the pharmacist who filled the prescription may have carelessly or negligently grabbed the wrong bottle.

Fortunately, Preston’s mother noticed her son’s condition and took quick action to avert a tragedy. All too often pharmaceutical error leads to grave consequences to patients and their loved ones. The administration of pharmaceuticals is a significant responsibility which must be undertaken with the utmost of care for the patient.