In a frightening case out of British Columbia, a 76-year-old, otherwise healthy woman died when she was prescribed two drugs that were known to have dangerous interactions. According to a report by one local news source, the error slipped past the physician, two pharmacists, and the computer system that tracks…
In a frightening case earlier last month out of New Zealand, a man needed to be hospitalized after he started to cough up blood due to a pharmacist’s error. The pharmacist responsible was actually hired from a temp agency that staffs short-term employees. According to one local news source, a…
Pharmacists are charged with a very important duty in our society: to verify and fill prescriptions issued by physicians and to answer any patient questions that may arise. In addition, pharmacists are a second line of defense against physician error, checking prescriptions against other medications that the patient is taking.…
Earlier this month in Portage, Michigan, one local woman caught on to an error by her pharmacist that may have saved her life. According to a report by a local news source, the woman was provided a prescription by a local Wal-Mart pharmacy that belonged to another patient not once,…
According to a study that was recently conducted in the United Kingdom, pharmacists miss errors in prescriptions in a frightening number of cases. According to a report by the Pharmaceutical Journal, the study results were unveiled at the Royal Pharmaceutical Society Annual Conference earlier this month. The study took 103…
Not too long ago, two sons lost their mother during what was supposed to be a routine two-hour surgery to help deliver soothing medication to her aching muscles and bones. According to a report by the Boston Globe, the woman fell last summer and broke several of her vertebrae. Doctors…
Earlier this month in New Zealand, a man died from a preventable and accidental overdose of rheumatoid arthritis medication, a doctor’s error that went undetected by the pharmacist who filled the prescription. According to a report by a local New Zealand news source, the man had been diagnosed with rheumatoid…
From coast to coast, pharmacy errors have been on the rise lately. While some pharmacy errors are harmless, and many are caught before the patient actually ingests the medication, others can result in serious injury or death. One recent article from a local news source in Oklahoma City discusses the…
Prescription drug injuries are becoming more and more common as pharmacies try to meet the increasing demands of their customers without hiring additional staff members. While there are several potential causes for a pharmacy misfill, one recent article points out that the similarity of different drug names may play a…
In areas of the country where there is a large minority of non-English speakers, some pharmacies have been pressured to translate the prescription instructions into the predominant language in the area. For example, one article explains that some California pharmacies are being pressured to translate their instructions into Chinese and…