Articles Posted in Common Errors

Anyone who takes prescription medication on a regular basis understands the importance of consistency and accuracy. Whether you pick up one or several medications on a regular basis at the pharmacy, every patient deserves to have peace of mind when they receive their prescription. After all, if a medication error were to take place, the consequences could result in injury, or in extreme cases, even death.

Improper dispensing of medications is more common than you may think—in fact, one in five Americans has experienced a medical error while receiving health care. The issue was given even greater attention more than four years ago, when a nurse typed two letters into a hospital’s computerized medication cabinet, selected the wrong drug from the results, and then administered a fatal dose to a patient. Because most hospital systems or pharmacies have computerized medicine cabinets, such technological vulnerability is not uncommon—and Maryland is no exception.

How can medication and pharmacy errors be prevented?

According to a recent news report, pharmaceutical safety experts are recommending a new method for medical practitioners to avoid pharmacy errors. With a new software update that requires drug names to be searched with five letters rather than three, experts are hoping that the fix will rectify issues surrounding withdrawing the incorrect drugs. Currently, most computerized medicine cabinet software programs require practitioners to type only three letters to search up a drug. For example, when a nurse types “M-E-T,” the search results could bring up anything from metronidazole to metformin. One of these drugs is an antibiotic—the other is for diabetes. Administering the wrong drug could yield disastrous results.

Prescription drug side effects and drug interactions may be minor and unnoticeable, though some drug effects can be severe, and even fatal. Doctors and pharmacists are responsible for the drugs they prescribe and dispense, and harmful side effects and drug interactions should be considered when giving a drug to a certain patient. Because some drugs are more prone to causing serious side effects and harmful interactions, a nonprofit organization known as the Institute for Safe Medical Practices (ISMP) has been compiling a database of the medications that carry an increased risk of resulting in patient harm when they are used or prescribed incorrectly. This database is part of the ISMP’s division known as the National Medication Errors Reporting Program (MERP). An article recently published by a pharmaceutical trade industry journal discusses some recent revisions that have been made to the ISMP database.

According to the recently published article, the medications in the database are not necessarily more likely to cause side effects or drug interactions, but the effects and interactions that do occur with the listed medications are more likely to be serious and result in patient harm. The article notes that the use of the MERP medication database is only a small part of an effective risk reduction strategy that should be employed by pharmacies to protect their patients. Medication errors will probably never be completely eliminated, and because of that, it is especially important for pharmacies and their employees to utilize a multi-faceted approach to preventing and catching medication errors.

What Is the Most Common Cause of Prescription Errors?

Human error is the most common cause of harmful medication mistakes. Because pharmacists and their employees are often overworked and understaffed, it is not prudent to place all of the responsibility for catching an error with a single person. The great advances in machine learning algorithms and automation technology have enabled pharmacies to automatically catch many errors that may have gone unnoticed before. Even with the technological advances, the ISMP recommendations are not always eagerly followed by pharmacies. Corporate greed, cost-cutting measures, and stubborn decision-makers who are resistant to change can all prevent improvements in the industry. When pharmacies refuse to listen to sound advice like that given by the ISMP, patients can be put at risk. Because of this, patients are still in danger of serious harm from medication errors anytime they visit a pharmacy.

Whether you only take medicine when you are sick or you have several medications to keep track of on a daily basis, we expect prescriptions to be filled by the pharmacy accurately. Medication errors, which take place when the type, dosage, or instructions associated with a prescription are incorrect, can have injurious or even deadly consequences.

Although medication errors took place before the pandemic, COVID-19 has exacerbated many previously existing issues. Many pharmacists, like other front-line health care providers, are overworked, exhausted, and burnt out with no reprieve or end to the pandemic in sight.

Before the pandemic, pharmacists already had dozens of responsibilities. From filling prescriptions, organizing various scripts, communicating back and forth with providers and patients, operating the drive-through, coordinating pickup and drop off of prescriptions, and conducting consultations, pharmacists are no stranger to busy and long days. The pandemic, however, increased the number of existing responsibilities. Now, in addition to previous obligations, pharmacists are also administering COVID-19 vaccines and tests while also frequently working with smaller numbers of staff because of people getting sick or social distancing requirements.

Dispensing errors are an unfortunate yet frequently occurring situation in many retail and hospital pharmacies. While some Maryland pharmacy errors may not result in severe consequences, other errors can be deadly to consumers and patients. In addition to thousands of health supplements, herbs, and lotions, nearly 7,000 prescription medications and countless over-the-counter drugs are available in the country. Pharmacy errors are occurring at an alarming rate because of the growing number of pharmaceutical and holistic substances on the market in conjunction with staff shortages.

According to the National Center for Biotechnology Information, about 8,000 people die because of a medication error every year, and hundreds of thousands of patients experience adverse reactions or other complications. These startling numbers result in exorbitant costs; additionally, many patients experience physical pain and psychological suffering because of medication errors.

What Are the Causes of Pharmacy Errors?

While there are many reasons that pharmacy errors occur, the primary causes stem from communication failure, illegible handwriting, incorrect selection, and pharmacist or technician confusion. While some errors involve human error, others involve flawed or defective automated systems. In some cases, the combination of these errors results in improper dispensing. Those with questions about a recent pharmacy error should consult with a personal injury lawyer.

Many people take some form of medication on a daily basis. Whether it is a short stretch of antibiotics or a daily pill to help with your blood pressure, recipients of medications should be able to reasonably trust that their pharmacies and healthcare providers are giving them proper care. Sometimes, however, even pharmacists and professionals are prone to errors. These errors, however, can often have devastating consequences if they involve medications. Maryland pharmacies can be held accountable for the errors they make.

According to a recent report summarizing common medication errors in long-term care facilities, pharmacists are essential as gatekeepers in the proactive prevention of prescription errors. Some of the most common medication errors include issues with dispensing, delays in delivery, and expired inventory.

What Are the Most Common Dispensing Errors?

Dispensing errors in long-term facilities often include incorrect dosages, incorrect drugs, incorrect patients, incorrect routes, or incorrect times. Many times, pharmacists will mix up lookalike and soundalike drugs in pharmacies. In addition, incorrect packaging can also result in dispensing errors.