As the medical industry progresses and new treatments are developed to address novel health concerns, pharmacists and pharmacy employees have a responsibility to keep up to date on the safe practices for dispensing the medications that have been prescribed. With the advent of new antiviral treatments for Covid-19 infection, pharmacy errors have unfortunately occurred. The Institute for Safe Medication Practices, a professional organization for the pharmaceutical industry, recently released a report on the misadministration of an antiviral cocktail that had been effective at battling Covid-19 infection.
According to the industry journal, the antiviral medication cocktail marketed as Paxlovid has shown promise at treating Covid-19 infection, however dispensing mistakes have been noticed at pharmacies nationwide. The largest single issue with the administration of the drug appears when it is being administered to patients with kidney disease. If a patient exhibited moderate kidney disease and was prescribed the drug, a pharmacist was supposed to remove some of the pills from the blister pack to avoid damaging the patient’s kidneys, however, this was not always done. Patients with severe kidney disease should not have been prescribed the drug at all.
What Are the Common Causes of Prescription Errors?