Massachusetts lawmakers, and specifically the state’s Board of Registration in Pharmacy, have been under increased scrutiny following the deadly meningitis outbreak that occurred last year. Prior to the outbreak, the regulators changed course regarding a decision to shut down a Massachusetts pharmacy whose medication error sent a teenager to the…
A Washington woman narrowly avoided a potentially tragic prescription error, when she picked up her usual prescription for the vitamin B12. The label on both the bag and the container even contained the correct name: Cyanocobalamin. The woman noticed that the color of the actual liquid was different, in addition…
A man who went into a pharmacy in order to get pills to keep him awake throughout the day allegedly ended up suffering serious consequences when he was instead given sleeping pills. The 61 year old man alleges that the mistake caused him to get into minor car accidents, and…
A Rhode Island pharmacist, and former state senator, has had his license revoked from the state earlier this month (registration required), following the accidental administration of morphine to two children who received medicine from the pharmacy where he worked. The Health Director, Michael Fine, ordered the pharmacist’s license to practice…
According to a report released earlier this month by the Pennsylvania Patient Safety Authority, more than 800 patient medication errors were reported to the agency over a six-month period. According to the report, errors were most likely to occur during the transcribing and administration phases, and occurred the least often…
With the advent of new electronic means of managing patient health records, there are now additional ways in which prescription errors can take place. For example, PCEHR, the Personally Controlled eHealth Record System, was adopted in June 2012 in Australia.It is a health information database designed for use by patients,…
An essay contest sponsored by the Daughters of the American Revolution spurred an entry by a woman left severely disabled by her life threatening pharmacy error injury. A pharmacy error led to the woman accidentally being given a blood thinner, instead of her diabetes medication (subscription required to view). The…
An 87 year old woman suffering an asthma attack was taken to a local hospital in Winnipeg by her granddaughter. The woman’s granddaughter, who brought her to the hospital, thought that the treatment would be routine. What followed, however, was far from it. The woman reportedly ended up on life…
Following the widespread contamination problems at several compounding facilities, hospitals and pharmacies have begun to reevaluate the potential options for improving sterility and quality of compounded IV fluids and related products. One potential option is the use of robots in lieu of pharmacists or technicians. One such robot is called…
Last month, the Florida House of Representatives passed a bill, by a vote of 101 to 16, that would double the number of pharmacy technicians each pharmacist can supervise from three to six. The pharmacists remain responsible for signing off on all of the medication orders, regardless of whether they…