Pharmacy Error Injury Lawyer Blog

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued an alert to pharmacists nationwide on December 28, 2011 regarding two drugs with similar-sounding names but very different uses, warning them of the risk of serious injury if one drug is accidentally substituted for the other. Durezol is an FDA-approved eye medicine that consists of a 0.05% solution of ophthalmic chemicals. Durasal, meanwhile, is a topical wart remover. It is not formally approved by the FDA, and it consists of a 26% solution of salicylic acid. Both drugs are available with a doctor’s prescription.

Ordinarily the FDA would screen trade names to see if they were substantially similar to an existing name in a way that might confuse consumers, but it never subjected Durasal to is formal approval process. Durasal reportedly went on the market shortly after the FDA approved Durezol.

Complaints about confusion between the two drugs began as early as 2009, with ophthalmic patients accidentally receiving the wart remover Durasal. Obviously a solution of more than a quarter acid is not ideal to place into one’s eye, and several patients have allegedly suffered severe eye injuries as a result. Durasal’s manufacturer, Elorac, Inc., has reportedly not responded to the FDA’s request to discuss a possible recall of the drug. The Philadelphia Inquirer reported that a company spokesperson at one time said the company planned to introduce a new product, also containing salicylic acid but with a different name. As of early January 2012, however, Durasal remains on the market.

A New York City patient filed a lawsuit against pharmacy chain Walgreens in early 2011 for mixing up the two medications. The man had just undergone minor eye surgery and went to fill a prescription for Durezol, the eye medicine. The pharmacy allegedly gave him Durasal instead, causing what he described as “grievous personal injury.”

The Consumerist reports that, despite packaging and warning labels, medicine mix-ups are a fairly common occurrence. They reference the story of an Arizona woman who mistook superglue for eyedrops in 2010 and needed emergency medical intervention. Eye drops may present a particular problem, since some patients may not able to immediately review the label and instructions due to impaired vision. The packaging for Durasal includes a clear warning that the product is “NOT FOR USE IN EYES,” but media reports do not indicate if pharmacies ordinarily dispense the medication in its original packaging, or if the warning was visible to the particular injured individuals.

Continue reading "Drug Confusion Causes Eye Injury, $1 Million Lawsuit" »

Several recent events have illustrated the importance of carefully reviewing prescriptions and medications at pharmacies. Errors in filling prescriptions, either by giving a person the wrong medication entirely or giving a person someone else’s medication, can have serious and even fatal consequences. Patients can take steps to protect themselves from pharmacy errors, and in the event of a medication mistake causing injury, they have remedies under the law.

This Pharmacy Error Injury Lawyer Blog has reported on the case of Mareena Silva, the Denver, Colorado woman who received the wrong medication at a Safeway pharmacy. Silva, who was six weeks pregnant at the time, tried to fill a prescription for antibiotics. Because of the similar-sounding name, the pharmacy gave her medication intended for Maria Silva. Instead of antibiotics, she received methotrexate, a cancer drug which can also be used in certain circumstances as an abortion drug. Silva realized the mistake only after she had taken one pill and began to feel nauseous. Doctors advised her to induce vomiting, and she received treatment at a nearby hospital. The outcome of this incident is still unknown, but could have serious consequences for the baby. The pharmacy formally apologized and offered to pay all medical expenses.

Another recent case occurred in St. Louis, Missouri, where a man, Ron Apenbrinck, has filed suit against Walgreens Pharmacy after he picked up a prescription with his name on the bag, but with another patient’s prescription bottle inside. Both the bag and bottle were correctly labeled, but the bottle was placed in the wrong bag. Instead of the painkiller hydrocodone, Apenbrinck allegedly received Amlodipine Besylate, a heart medication. He took the medication for several days until he collapsed in pain, suffering what he has described as a “mini stroke.” Apenbrinck now claims that he suffers from an irregular heartbeat and permanent damage to his nervous system, as well as his head, neck, and back. Walgreens issued a statement saying it called Apenbrinck to apologize, and that errors such as this are very rare.

Pharmacists owe a duty to customers to accurately and diligently review and fill all prescriptions. The Maryland Board of Pharmacists regulates the licensing of all pharmacists in the state, and it handles complaints and discipline for pharmacists who make errors in filling prescriptions. We previously reported on the duty of Maryland pharmacists to educate patients and prevent medication errors.

Continue reading "Preventing Medication Mix-Ups at the Pharmacy" »

Our Prince George’s County, Maryland pharmacy error lawyer blog recently reported on the important role communication plays between patients and their healthcare providers—in order to reduce the risk of medication errors or pharmacy misfills, and to promote the safe and effective use of drug therapy.

Every year, 1.5 million Americans experience medication-related injuries, according to a study by the Institute of Medicine. In order to prevent medication errors, the American Pharmacists Association (APhA) reports that it is important for patients to keep accurate health records with them when visiting the doctor and pharmacist, including current prescription medication lists detailing the dosage information along with all health conditions that the medication is treating.

Patient medication lists can reduce the risk of pharmacy misfills, incorrect dosages, medication duplication, allergy interaction, and any harmful side effects from potential dangerous drug interactions. The APhA also states that by keeping drug lists with them at all times, patients can prevent medical error by providing emergency staff and hospital pharmacists with important information that could saves lives in an emergency.

According to a recent Chicago Tribune article, doctors are now recommending that individuals turn the medication lists into a comprehensive health journal, to keep healthcare providers informed and to prevent medication error injury.

Continue reading "Reducing Medication Error Injury by Keeping Health Record Journals " »

Our Talbot County, Maryland pharmacy error injury lawyer blog recently discussed a series of recalls drug maker Johnson & Johnson made last year, in an effort to maintain the health and safety of consumers—after complaints of an unusual smell causing nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and gastrointestinal pain were reported, due to trace amounts of 2, 4, and 6-tribomoanisole (TBA), a chemical used to preserve wood necessary in the construction of pallets used for transportation and shipping of the product packaging materials.

In related news, Ortho-McNeil-Janssen Pharmaceutical, the drug manufactures of Risperdal (risperidone), an antipsychotic drug used for the treatment of schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and irritability associated with autistic disorder in adolescents and children, recently voluntarily recalled 16,000 bottles of the brand name drug and 24,000 bottles of the generic drug—also because of an unusual odor.

The Risperdal drug manufacturers found that the unusual smell was also caused by trace amounts of TBA, used to preserve wood pallets for the transportation and storage of product materials. While not considered to be toxic, a small group of patients have reported gastrointestinal symptoms when taking products with this offensive odor. The drug maker claims that the presence of TBA has not caused any reported serious adverse events, but the company has instituted a series of actions to reduce the potential of TBA contamination in the future, to avoid personal injury or harm to any consumers.

This is the second medication error warning surrounding Risperdal this year. Last month our attorneys discussed another warning involving Risperdal in a Baltimore pharmacy error injury blog, issued by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, discussing potentially dangerous medication errors associated with Risperdal and Requip, a drug used for the treatment of Parkinson’s disease and Restless Legs Syndrome, with 226 reports of patients receiving the incorrect medication.

Continue reading "Risperdal Recalled by Manufacturer Due to Drug Contamination" »

In a previous Baltimore medication error injury blog post, our attorneys discussed a recent investigation by Consumer Reports Health that found evidence of inconsistency among prescription drug labels for warfarin, a blood thinner. The report found that important safety warnings and medication guides that are required by the federal government in order to prevent medication errors, were often omitted or left out of patient’s warfarin prescriptions.

As our Maryland pharmacy mistake lawyer blog has reported previously, every year, according to research by the Institute of Medicine, there are 1.5 million preventable medication error injuries, one third of which take place outside of hospitals, where consumers must make their own decisions about following medication instructions. Consumer Reports Health suggests that these medication errors happen because consumers are confused by the material that is included with prescriptions, and that they rely heavily on the medication bottle label—a problem if there are omissions or inconsistencies with the drug label.

The report found the following discrepancies:

• Four out of five pharmacies neglected to provide the medication guides that are required by the FDA for certain drugs, including warfarin.
• All of the pharmacies provided their own materials for the patients, but these conflicted with the guides for warfarin approved by the FDA. The FDA recommended that patients abstain from alcohol while taking the drug, while two pharmacies warned patients that they should just limit or avoid alcohol usage.

Continue reading "Report Warns Consumers to Take Precautions With Drug Labels and Instructions" »

A recent investigation that our Hartford County pharmacy error injury attorneys have been following found evidence that drug labels are often missing the important safety warnings necessary to prevent medication error and that many pharmacies neglect to include the proper medication guides that are required by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

The investigation was performed by Consumer Reports Heath, by filling warfarin prescriptions at five different New York drugstores. Warfarin is a blood thinner used for stroke prevention that is one of the most frequently prescribed drugs in the country.

The results found that four out of the five pharmacies neglected to provide the FDA-approved medication instructions that are required for specific drugs, warfarin included. Although the pharmacies reportedly provided their own medication materials, they were different from the warfarin drug information approved by the FDA, in that the warnings about the usage of alcohol were different. Warfarin can reportedly cause life-threatening internal bleeding if used incorrectly, and is the second in line for drugs that cause emergency room visits in hospitals across the country, due to medication error.

Another goal in the investigation was to see how certain drug labels, consumer drug information sheets, and medication warning stickers differed in each pharmacy. Although a certain degree of variation was expected, as various drugstore chains use different software to print labels and drug instructions, the findings raised significant concern.

Continue reading "Consumer Reports Health Investigation Finds Drug Label Warning Inconsistency" »

In recent news that our Pharmacy error injury attorneys have been following, a new study from the Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association found that prescriptions sent electronically to pharmacies by doctors are almost as likely to have errors as the prescription medication orders handwritten by doctors.

The study examined 3,850 electronic prescriptions that a commercial pharmacy retain chain received over a period of four weeks in 2008. Out of the 3,850 e-prescriptions studied, researches found that 12%, almost 500, contained a total of 466 prescribing errors.

The researchers noted that their findings on e-prescribing error rates are consistent with their earlier study and research for error rates on handwritten prescriptions. Out of the 466 electronic prescribing errors discovered, only one-third of them could have caused patient harm or personal injury.

According to Bloomberg, the results undermine the safety benefits expected from e-prescribing, especially as the federal government paid over $158.3 million to doctors and hospitals in the beginning of 2011 to encourage doctors to switch over to electronic health records, as a way to reduce healthcare costs and eliminate medical and medication errors. The report found that although many providers are rapidly adopting electronic health records and e-prescribing, many of the expected benefits of the electronic computerized prescribing will not take effect if the electronic prescribing applications are not able to catch medication errors, or in fact cause medication errors.

Continue reading "New Study Finds Electronic Medication Error Rates Consistent with Handwritten Prescriptions" »

The Food and Drug Administration recently issued a warning about the potentially dangerous medication errors occurring with the drugs Risperdal (risperidone) and Requip (ropinrole)—with 226 reports of patients accidentally receiving the wrong drug, causing sickness and at least one death.

Risperdal (risperidone) is an antipsychotic used for the treatment of schizophrenia, autism side effects and bipolar disorder, and is reportedly being confused with Requip (ropinirole), a drug used for the treatment of Parkinson’s disease and Restless Legs Syndrome, that acts in place of dopamine.

According to the Food and Drug Administration report, the medication errors are happening as a result of the drug name similarity as well as the similarity in generic drug labels and packaging, with overlapping drug characteristics such as the drug strengths, and dosing intervals. Other errors have reportedly stemmed from illegible handwriting on prescriptions.

Patients who were victims of the medication errors have reportedly experienced confusion, tiredness, hallucinations, and an altered or changed mental status, among others health problems.

The FDA warns patients who are taking the generic versions of Requip or Risperdal to notice the name and appearance of their medication, to know exactly why they are taking the drug, and to ask any questions and to report any difference in medication appearance to their pharmacists—to avoid pharmacy misfills or medication errors.

Continue reading "FDA Warns of Confusion between Risperdal and Requip, Leading to Medication Error" »

In a recent pharmacy misfill news story that our Maryland pharmacy error injury lawyers have been following, a pharmacy customer has received an apology from a local Walgreens pharmacy, after receiving refills of a medication that contained a dosage that was ten times stronger than what the doctor had prescribed.

The pharmacy misfill reportedly took place repeatedly for around a year, where Larina Helsom took a 50mcg tablet twice a day instead of a 5mcg dose. The medication reportedly caused the Helsom to suffer from chest and esophageal spasms that were so painful she couldn’t talk or breathe. When they first started happening, Helsom thought that she was dying.

After months of taking the prescription misfill, Helsom reportedly went through several hospitalizations for the spasms, along with other prescribed medications to control the symptoms. Once the drug misfill was discovered, her doctor advised that Helsom stop taking the drug immediately.

The Arizona State Pharmacy Board is reportedly now investigating Walgreen’s pharmacy misfill, to decide whether negligence was a factor in the mistake. Last year, the pharmacy board reportedly received 131 complaints about pharmacies statewide. Walgreens claims that the prescription dose at issue was within the normal range of dosing for this drug.

Continue reading "Walgreens Pharmacy Misfill Causes Dosing Error" »

Our Maryland pharmacy misfill injury attorneys have been following the recent developments in the tragic Walmart prescription error incident from 2008 that caused a teenager to suffer a pain medication overdose that led to paralysis.

When Jessie Scott was 18, and suffering from strep throat pain, his doctor prescribed a low-dose of the pain reliever, oxycodone hydrochloride. After receiving the prescription from Walmart, Jessie’s mother administered one dose to her son.

In a grave prescription drug error, the Walmart pharmacist reportedly failed to dilute the drug, and the prescribed dosage of 5 milligrams was actually around 100 milligrams, causing a prescription drug overdose. Jessie went into a coma, suffered organ failure and paralysis.

Scott, who is now 20 years old, has reportedly experienced some remarkable changes physically and psychologically, making incredible strides since the horrific incident that caused his disabilities. Thanks to a court prescription error lawsuit settlement with Walmart, Jessie’s parents were able to build an area in their house with special accommodations that allow him to be transported from room to room. He can now raise his arms, hold his head upright, wiggle his toes, and even kick. Although the odds seem to be against him, Jessie holds out hope that he will walk again.

Continue reading "Prescription Error Overdose Leads to Paralysis, Victim Hopeful for Recovery" »

The Institute of Medicine, reports that every year, 1.5 million people are injured by medication-related events. According to an article in the Wall Street Journal (WSJ), that our Baltimore medication error injury attorneys have been following, a recent report from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), found that the number of patients treated in hospitals across the country for illnesses and personal injuries from incorrectly taking medications like sedatives, blood thinners, corticosteroids and other drugs, increased over 50% from 2004 to 2008.

The report also found that over 800,000 U.S. patients were also treated in emergency rooms across the country in medication-related events, stemming from the incorrect usage of antibiotics, insulin, painkillers, and cardiovascular and other drugs. The WSJ looked at some of these individual drugs, to examine how they can cause personal harm or injury if taken incorrectly. According to the report:

• Antibiotics can cause an allergic reaction if taken incorrectly, and can also fail to properly fight infections. Also, when taking antibiotics, patients are generally cautioned to limit sun exposure, as it can cause extreme sunburns.
• Painkillers can cause breathings problems or even death if taken with alcohol or other sedatives or painkillers. OTC products that contain the ingredient acetaminophen can harm the liver if taken with a combination of opioid-acetaminophen drugs.
• Antidepressants and tranquilizers, if taken incorrectly, can lead to panic attacks and suicidal tendencies or actions.
• If taken erroneously, corticosteroids prescribed for asthma, arthritis, transplant patients, ulcerative colitis, and other conditions, can worsen other health conditions, like high blood pressure, blood sugar problems, ulcers, and diabetes, and can also lead to withdrawal if a patient stops taking them suddenly.
• Insulin, if not taken as prescribed, can both increase or reduce a patient’s blood-sugar levels, leading to shock and other health complications.
• If a patient fails to take blood thinners correctly, a high dose that is too high can cause bruising, excessive bleeding, whereas a dose that is too low can cause clotting. Effectiveness of the drug can also be threatened when interacting with other medications.
• Blood pressure drugs can also, if the medication is taken erroneously, cause a spike in blood pressure, and an overdose can cause chest pain, dizziness, shortness of breath, a fast or abnormally slow heartbeat, and can also cause coma.
• Cancer drugs, when taken in error, can cause fever, nausea and vomiting, shortness of breath, diarrhea, cause confusion and fatigue, and when an overdose is taken, can even cause death.

Continue reading "Lack of Medication Adherence Can Cause Serious Medication Reactions and Injury " »

As our attorneys reported in a recent Rockville, Maryland pharmacy misfill blog post, according to the National Consumers League (NCL), around three out of four consumers in this country admit they don’t take their prescription drug medication as directed—causing an increase in medication error and injury that has a huge impact on patients and the healthcare industry.

To combat medication error, the NCL has launched a national multi-media medication adherence campaign this month with the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), that will aim to raise patient awareness on the importance of taking medication as directed.

According to the NCL, when consumers fail to take medications as instructed by their healthcare professionals, it creates a problem that impacts not only the patient, but the caregivers, employers, researchers, health care practitioners, and tax payers as well. Nonadherence to prescribed medications can also result in injury or death.

Research presented by the league shows that one in three prescriptions never get filled, with 1/3 and 2/3 of hospital admissions linked to medication errors that stem from poor drug adherence. The total cost for nonadherence leads to a reported $300 billion a year.

The campaign will strive to enhance patient safety and improve the healthcare system, encourage health practitioners to properly and effectively communicate the importance of prescription medication adherence to patients, and raise awareness of the problem through public education and a national campaign.

Continue reading "NCL Campaign to Improve Medication Adherence and Patient Safety" »

According to a recent article in the Wall Street Journal, a new national initiative is underway to make prescription medications clearer, and to decrease the rise of medication error that lead to hospitalizations and emergency room visits from patients who take their medication incorrectly—which according to the National Community Pharmacists Association happens to three out of every four Americans.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is reportedly planning to test a new one-page information sheet to replace the many leaflet inserts and medication guides that are widely used in retail pharmacy chains across the country. And the U.S. Pharmacopeial Convention, the organization responsible for setting quality standards that are enforced by the FDA for the strength, purity and quality of medicines, has also developed a new program to create national standards for prescription labels, which currently vary greatly from pharmacy to pharmacy. The national label standard would require clearer instructions on the medication dosage, the medication timing and clearly state the purpose of the medication—to reduce medication and pharmacy error injury.

Currently, in pharmacies across the country, consumers may receive three different forms of drug information and pamphlets with their prescription medication—drug package inserts that are written by the drug manufacturer with FDA approval, drug guides for specific classes of drugs and products that are required by the FDA, and third-party consumer medical information. And according to the WSJ, recent FDA studies have shown that the drug information offered to consumers does not provide reliable understanding with the people taking the drugs, and is often conflicting in instruction, or even inaccurate, which could lead to patient harm or injury.

According to a recent FDA risk-communication advisory panel, more than half of adults misread or misunderstand one or more of common drug prescription precautions or warnings. In one study, patients were found to better understand language on warning labels that was simple and specific, like “use only on your skin” as opposed to “for external use only.” For consumers with lower English literacy skills, picture icons were provided, like a sun with a black bar, with the phrase, “limit your time in the sun.”

Continue reading "FDA Redesigns Pharmacy Packet Inserts to Avoid Medication Error Injury" »

In our last Washington D.C. pharmacy error injury lawyer blog, our attorneys discussed the dangerous problem of pharmacy misfills with children, and how important it is for parents to check prescriptions before leaving the pharmacy to make sure that their child has the right medication.

Other important information for parents to double check with the doctor and pharmacist is the child's medication dosage and instructions, as a single error could lead to improper medication dosing, and possible injury.

In recent pharmacy mistake news in North Carolina, a 9-year-old child was prescribed the antibiotic amoxicillin for an ear infection. The doctor had prescribed 7 milliliters twice a day, but the CVS pharmacist who filled the prescription reportedly instructed Melissa Fink to give her daughter 7.5 teaspoons—which amounts 37 milliliters--or 5 times the recommended dosage of the doctor.

When Fink's daughter became worse, and the bottle was nearly empty only two days of giving her the medicine, Fink's doctor realized the medication error, and advised her to bring her child in immediately. Thankfully the antibiotic overdose did not cause major harm or injury, but according to the Carolinas Poison Center, amoxicillin overdoses can be serious and lead to dehydration or kidney failure.

Continue reading "CVS Pharmacy Error Leads to Amoxicillin Overdose in Child" »

Our Baltimore medication error attorneys have been following a recent pharmacy misfill incident that reportedly sent a Colorado Springs mother into great shock—as she nearly gave her small child an epilepsy drug that had been accidentally given to her by the pharmacist at a local Walgreens.

According to KDRO News, Channel 13, Kathy DeRosa went to pick up her son’s Motrin flu medication from the Walgreen’s pharmacy. The prescription reportedly had her 2-year-old’s name on it, along with medication information about the drug. Upon returning home, DeRosa noticed that bottle was smaller than the usual Motrin that she previously received for her son, and after investigating the bottle, she realized that the drug give to him was Levetiracetam—a drug used for epilepsy. DeRosa immediately called the Walgreens pharmacy manager about the prescription error and they brought the correct medicine to the house, apologizing for the dangerous mistake.

Levetiracetam, the drug mistakenly given to DeRosa's son, is reported to have many potential side effects including fever, hallucinations a drop in white blood count and breathing difficulty, and is not intended to be used for children under the age of four. DeRosa claims that had her son taken the medication he could be in the emergency room, as he has asthma.

According to DeRosa, this pharmacy misfill shows parents the importance of carefully reading the labels on their children's prescription bottles before leaving the pharmacy, and to check for potential prescription error. Had it not been for the change in bottle shape, DeRosa said they could be in a very serious situation right now.

Continue reading "Walgreens Pharmacy Misfill Leaves Toddler With Dangerous Drug" »

In a recent Maryland pharmacy error injury lawyer blog entry, our attorneys discussed automated hospital pharmacies the use robots instead of people for tasks that are traditionally manual—in an effort to eliminate medication errors that could cause patient harm or personal injury.

According to the Medical Center of the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), a hospital that recently implemented an automated hospital pharmacy--the benefits of using an robots instead of people are:

• Robots will help take over the manual medication dispensing tasks traditionally performed by pharmacists and nurses, who will in turn have more time to work with physicians to decide what the best patient drug therapy is, and will have more time to monitor each patient for any clinical responses or adverse reactions to medicine.
• The new pharmacy will provide pharmacy students with a strong training ground in the safe medication distribution systems of the future.
• The pharmacy will also enable the center to study new forms of medication delivery in order to share this groundbreaking information with other hospitals all over the country.
• Out of the 350,000 doses prepared by the robo-pharmacy since 2010, there has not been a single medication error or pharmacy misfill.

According to UCSF, the automated medication dispensing system will allow pharmacists to use their expertise in pharmaceutical care to make sure that each patients receives medication therapy that is catered to their individual needs, in a safe and effective way.

Continue reading "Benefits of Robo Pharmacy Technology in Reducing Prescription Errors" »

In an effort to reduce pharmacy misfills and medication error, the Medical Center of the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), has recently employed a series of pharmacy robots, according to recent technology news that our Baltimore-based pharmacy misfill attorneys have been following.

In the newly automated hospital pharmacy, UCSF has employed what they consider to be the most comprehensive robots on the market, to prepare and track medications and improve the safety of patients. According to UCSF, since the automated system took over in October 2010, there has not been a single error in the 350,000 medication doses prepared.

This newly automated pharmacy reportedly streamlines the delivery of medication from the prescription directly to the patient, making every step in the medication therapy process safe and effective--from deciding the best drug treatment to patient administration—in order to reduce medication error injury.

How the Robo-Pharmacy Technology works:

• The automated system reportedly prepares medications that are oral and injectable, including chemotherapy drugs that are toxic. The robots are also able to fill IV bags or syringes with medications.
• Once the computers receive a new electronic medication order from an UCSF physician and pharmacist, the robots pick the medication, package the drugs, and dispense doses of the pills that are individualized for each patient.
• The robots assemble medication doses into a thin plastic ring that contains a bar code with all of patients' medications for a period of 12 hours.
• In the fall of this year, all UCSF Medical Center nurses will start using bar code scanners that read patients’ medication data at their bedsides--a topic our attorneys have discussed in a recent Maryland pharmacy error injury blog--to verify that the patient is being treated with the correct medication.
• A robotic inventory management system also maintains all medication products, with pharmacy warehouses that provide both refrigerated and non-refrigerated drug and supply storage and retrieval.

Continue reading "UCSF Employs New Automated Pharmacy to Prevent Pharmacy Error" »

In a recent Baltimore pharmacy error injury blog, our attorneys discussed the prevalence of pharmacy misfills and prescription drug errors plaguing our nation, with over 1.5 million injuries medication-related events documented by an Institute of Medicine study.

According to a related study discussed by Good Housekeeping magazine, pharmacy errors occur in one out of every five prescriptions. Another study reportedly found that 18 percent of hospital patients are exposed to medication errors. When addressing the problem of pharmacy error and medication mistakes, it is important for the consumer to always check and make sure that the prescription given at the pharmacy is the exact medication prescribed by the doctor.

As our Maryland medication mistake lawyers discussed previously, taking the necessary steps to verify your prescription with the pharmacist before taking medication can prove to be an extremely valuable step in preventing medication error injury. A few pharmacy error prevention tips include:

When receiving a new prescription, always ask the doctor to write down the medical problem associated with the medication, as this could help prevent a pharmacy misfill. Also, when filling a prescription for the first time, it is important to check the prescription label carefully to verify the name, dosage and directions for usage. It is also important to form a relationship with the pharmacist, to discuss the medication directions, as well as any potential allergies or potential medication conflicts that could happen with any other current prescriptions or supplements.

Continue reading "Pharmacy Misfill and Medication Error Prevention" »

According to news from the Jersey Journal that our Baltimore, Maryland medication mistake attorneys have been following, a local Walgreens Pharmacy has made another pharmacy error, the second in six months, by erroneously filling an 18-month old child’s acetaminophen elixir medication, similar to Tylenol, with an acetaminophen product containing codeine, a powerful pain reliever.

After unknowingly giving her child a pharmacy misfill for a week, Jannette Jackson reportedly became alarmed when her daughter seemed groggy and tired and was not improving with the medication.

Jackson then discovered the pharmacy error and confronted Walgreens, who admitted the prescription mistake. Jackson claims that her pediatrician was shocked to hear of the error, and stated that luckily the codeine dosage was not lethal, and did not cause any allergic reaction or personal injury to the child.

In the previous medication error six months ago by same Walgreens Pharmacy, that our attorneys reported on in a related Baltimore prescription error blog, a two-year-old boy was prescribed a hydrocortisone prescription to treat his allergies. The pharmacy mistakenly gave the child an incorrect prescription for 10mg of oxycodone, a powerful pain medication that had been filled for another patient. The two-year-old child was reportedly given one of the Oxycodone pills, upon which the pharmacy error was discovered and the child was rushed to the hospital.

Continue reading "Another Child Receives Prescription Mix-up From Same Walgreens Pharmacy" »

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.

Continue reading "Study Finds Frequency of Pain Relieving Medication Errors in Hospitals" »