Pharmacy errors are a serious problem in the American healthcare system. With nearly four billion prescriptions nationwide, and only 240,000 pharmacists, the ratio is not a favorable one for the patient looking to get his or her prescription filled. In fact, by some estimates, there are 2.2 to 3.7 million…
The United States is one of only three countries in the world that does not use the metric system in practice. While the official system of measurement in the States is the metric system, in reality, no one really uses it. However, this can cause a problem when children are…
It seems that there really is an app for everything. In a recent article by DNA India, a new app is on the market targeted towards Indian physicians. The app, called Safe RX, is a way for doctors to put in prescriptions for patients that ensure the prescriptions are legible.…
Earlier this year in June, a Texas man filed a lawsuit against a CVS Pharmacy alleging that the pharmacy’s error caused him to permanently lose sight in one of his eyes. According to a report by a local news source, the man was given a prescription for eye drops to…
In a frightening story out of North Houston earlier this month, an eight month old child was given painkillers instead of cold medicine by a local pharmacy. According to a report by a local news source, the child’s parents took her to the doctor complaining of a persistent cough and…
At the Children’s Medical Center in Dallas, Texas, 10 full-time pharmacists have been brought on to the staff to help combat medication errors in the emergency room. According to a recent report by NPR, the hospital views the addition of the pharmacists as a vital safety net. As one emergency…
In St. Barnabas Hospital in the Bronx, a new robotic system is being used to fill IV medications. The new system, called RIVA, replaced the human element in the filling of medications in hopes that the high number of IV medication errors will drop. According to a report in the…
Earlier in May of this year, an Indian-owned pharmaceutical company announced a voluntary recall of over 10,000 bottles of promethazine hydrochloride, a drug used to treat allergies. According to a report by Medical Daily, the recall was initiated when a 25-mg tablet of atenolol was found mixed in with the…
Following a meningitis outbreak that was linked to a faulty drug, several custom drug manufacturers have recently consented to voluntary oversight by the FDA. According to a report by AZ Central, the manufacturers of custom drugs exist in a bit of a legal loophole. These manufacturers often create specific drug…
Earlier this month, Ranbaxy Laboratories initiated a voluntary drug recall of over 30,000 blister packs of one of the drugs it makes. The drug, which is a generic version of the popular allergy medication Claratin, is called loratadin and is a slow release pill with an added decongestant. The FDA’s…