Common Errors

Patients Should Keep an Eye Out for These Maryland Pharmacy Errors

March 13, 2020 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Medical errors are estimated to the third leading cause of death in the United States. Even when they are not fatal, these errors often have a profound impact on a patient’s life. While there are many different types of medical mistakes, Maryland pharmacy errors can be among the most devastating, especially for the elderly and young children.

While there is a risk of error any time a pharmacist fills a prescription, certain situations present an increased risk. For example, according to a recent news report, the following are a few of the most common medication errors.

Zinc overdoses: Zinc is a mineral that most people consume every day in their diet. Small doses of zinc are beneficial and may help fight colds. However, it is possible to overdose on zinc. In fact, in 2019, a two-year-old was almost given a fatal dose of zinc that was 1,000 times more potent than necessary when a physician prescribed 700 milligrams instead of 700 micrograms.

Pressure on Maryland Pharmacists Putting Patients at Risk, Pharmacists Say

February 19, 2020 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Pharmacists at the country’s biggest retail chains have written letters to state regulatory boards in recent months alerting them to what they claim are chaotic workplaces that put patients at risk, according to a recent article. The pharmacists say that the pressures put on them require that they give shots, answer phones, mange drive-throughs, take payments, and make calls in addition to filling prescriptions and counseling patients. They say that these demands in addition to meeting corporate metrics are making their jobs unsafe for patients. According to the article, surveys of pharmacists in Maryland and other states reveal that they “feel pressured or intimidated to meet standards or metrics that may interfere with safe patient care.”

For example, internal documents from CVS showed that staff members were supposed to persuade 65 percent of patients that were picking up prescriptions to sign up for automatic refills, 75 percent to have their doctor contacted for a proactive refill request, and 55 percent to switch from a 30-day supply to a 90-day supply.

One pharmacist wrote that they were a “danger to the public” in a letter to the Texas State Board of Pharmacy. Another said the situation is “absolutely dangerous” to patients. Such pressures have led to mistakes they say, including misfills. Some mistakes have led to devastating results, including dispensing a cancer drug instead of an antidepressant, leading to the woman’s death after six days of taking the medication, which allegedly led to organ failure. The family was offered a settlement in that case.

Pharmacy Errors Caused by Abbreviation Mix-Ups in Maryland

December 21, 2019 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

The Institute for Safe Medication Practices (ISMP) is warning pharmacists and medical practitioners about the potentially severe consequences of using abbreviations for drug names. Their recent report, submitted to the National Medication Errors Reporting Program, sheds crucial light onto one way in which patients could be injured by a Maryland pharmacy error—through miscommunications and mix-ups based on drug abbreviations.

For example, according to an article discussing the ISMP’s report, one commonly confusing abbreviation is “tPA,” which refers to “tissue plasminogen activator alteplase (Activase).” In one situation, an urgent order for alteplase for a patient in an intensive care unit (ICU) was sent to the pharmacy. A nurse from the ICU called the pharmacy to ask if the “tPA” was ready, but the pharmacist, who was newly hired and unfamiliar with the abbreviation tPA, thought the request was for “TPN,” or “total parenteral nutrition.” The pharmacist then told the nurse that the drug would be there in a few minutes, since they were currently mixing parenteral nutrition solutions.

Later that day, when the needed alteplase did not arrive, the ICU nurse called the pharmacy again. Another pharmacist answered, saw the urgent order in the database, and began to dispense a dosage of the drug. Unfortunately, in her rush, she forgot to mix the drug according to the protocol for inpatient use and was delayed while re-dispensing and mixing the drug. This delay, since the drug was already delayed due to the abbreviation mix-up earlier, led to the hospital calling a rapid response team for the patient in question.

Common Issues in Maryland Pharmacy Error Cases

November 12, 2019 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

When a pharmacist incorrectly fills a patient’s prescription, the pharmacist may be liable to the patient for any injuries that occur as a result of the medical error. However, in a Maryland pharmacy error lawsuit, a patient must be able to prove not just that an error was made, but that the pharmacist’s error caused them harm. While this may sound simple in theory, in practice the issues of causation and damages often raise significant hurdles.

Take, for example, a recent pharmacy error. According to a recent article, a patient was given a prescription for “Potassium Citrate ER 10 MEQ (1080mg) CR-TABS” after having a procedure to remove several kidney stones. The hospital printed out the correct prescription, and the patient took the prescription to be filled at a satellite location of the hospital pharmacy. However, upon taking it to the pharmacy, the patient was provided with “Potassium CL 10 MEQ 120.”

According to the man’s claim, the hospital’s pharmacy later called a local Rite-Aid to transfer the prescription, at his request. However, rather than calling in the correct prescription, the hospital pharmacy called in the Potassium CL 10 MEQ 120 pills. The man continued to take the medication for seven months, refilling the prescription each month. In total, the patient took the wrong medication for 10 months. During this time, the patient continued to form kidney stones, requiring additional treatment.

Common Types of Maryland Pharmacy Errors

September 19, 2019 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

When a patient takes a prescription to the pharmacy to get it filled, they assume that the medication they are picking up is the one prescribed by their physician. However, that is not always the case. Indeed, each year, there are thousands of Maryland pharmacy errors, many of which result in severe injury or death.

Patients should be vigilant when it comes to double-checking all prescription medication for themselves, as well as for their loved ones. Pharmacy errors can occur in many ways; below is a partial list of some of the more common types of pharmacy errors.

Giving the patient the wrong medication: Perhaps the most common type of pharmacy error is when a pharmacist provides the patient with the wrong medication. These errors are very dangerous because the patient ends up taking a drug that they were not prescribed in an unknown dose. Additionally, the patient is not receiving the medication that they were prescribed, potentially worsening any existing condition.

Preventable Medication Errors Are a Threat to Maryland Patients

August 28, 2019 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

The issuance and administration of medication can seem routine, but those procedures result in millions of errors, many of which are preventable. In the case of a medication error, a victim may be able to recover compensation if they are able to prove that the provider was negligent and that they suffered harm as a result.

In a medical negligence claim, plaintiff has to show that a defendant healthcare professional owed the plaintiff a duty of care, that the healthcare professional failed to meet the standard of care in acting or failing to act in some way, that the plaintiff was injured because of that failure, and that the healthcare professional’s lack of care caused the plaintiff injuries. Medication error cases can be difficult to prove, particularly because the patient is often already sick and suffering from some disease or condition to begin with. Reliable expert testimony is often crucial in these cases.

Plaintiffs in medication error cases may be able to recover compensation for medical expenses, physical therapy expenses, lost wages, loss of earning capacity, and other damages.

What to Do Following a Maryland Pharmacy Error

June 19, 2019 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Medical mistakes, including pharmacy errors, are among the leading causes of death in the state. Notwithstanding the data showing that preventable medication errors affect nearly 7 million patients per year, most people maintain an “it could never happen to me” approach when thinking about these potentially dangerous errors. However, the reality is that anyone can fall victim to a Maryland pharmacy error.

Not all pharmacy errors are harmful, and fewer yet are fatal. In fact, most pharmacy errors are caught by another pharmacist or the patient. Of the patients who end up bringing the incorrect prescription home and taking it, few will experience immediate side effects. That, however, does not mean that the un-prescribed medication will not cause the patient harm; only that there are no immediate effects.

The best way to avoid suffering the ill effects of a Maryland pharmacy error is to prevent the mistake from happening in the first place. Of course, the duty to prevent a mistake does not ultimately rest with the patient; however, patients should still double-check all prescriptions and seek a consultation with a pharmacist when taking new prescriptions.

Maryland Pharmacy Errors Caused by Medications with Adverse Interactions

June 12, 2019 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Included among the responsibilities of a Maryland pharmacist is the duty to ensure that the medication provided to a patient does not negatively interact with the patient’s other prescriptions. Prescription medications contain powerful drugs and many prescription medications should not be taken with other prescription medication or even over-the-counter medications.

There are several types of drug interactions, including pharmacodynamic and pharmacokinetic interactions. A pharmacodynamic interaction occurs when two medications that react with the same receptor site are taken at the same time. Pharmacodynamic interactions result in the ingested medications having a greater (synergistic) or decreased (antagonistic) effect, depending on the specific medications involved. Pharmacodynamic interactions can be fatal.

Pharmacokinetic interactions occur when one drug affects the body’s ability to absorb, metabolize, distribute, or eliminate another medication. For example, calcium can bind to some medications, reducing their absorption. Thus, patients are advised not to take the HIV medication Tivicay at the same time as Tums because the calcium in Tums can lower the amount Tivicay that is absorbed into the patient’s system. In this situation, doctors suggest patients take the two medications at staggered times throughout the day.

The Potential Causes of Maryland Pharmacy Errors

May 28, 2019 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Medical errors are consistently ranked as one of the leading causes of death in the United States, with some estimating that as many as 440,000 people die each year from preventable medical errors. One of the more common medical mistakes are pharmacy errors that occur in retail and hospital pharmacies. Pharmacy errors can be harmful not only when patients have a negative interaction with the unprescribed drug but also when a patient fails to get the necessary medication.

Pharmacists are highly educated and well-trained medical professionals, like doctors, dentists, or nurses. Because of this, pharmacists have a professional duty to ensure that their patients are provided the correct medication, in the right dose, with the appropriate instructions. When a pharmacist makes an error, and a patient suffers as a result, the patient may be able to pursue a Maryland pharmacy error lawsuit against the negligent pharmacist as well as the pharmacy where the error occurred.

Given the prevalence of pharmacy errors, significant effort has been devoted to understanding the cause of these errors. It has been determined that certain medications are more likely to be involved in a medication error. Typically, these are medications that have similarly spelled or pronounced names as other drugs. Industry professionals call these look-alike sound-alike drugs, or LASA drugs. The most dangerous LASA drugs are those that share their names with drugs that have adverse interactions with other commonly prescribed drugs. A few examples of LASA drugs are:

The Impact Technological Advancements Have on Maryland Pharmacy Errors

May 13, 2019 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Over the past few years, local Maryland pharmacies have seen a gradual increase in the number of prescriptions that are filled each year. However, pharmacies have been slow to adjust the number of pharmacists with this increase in demand. As a result, pharmacists are dealing with increased workloads.

For quite some time, experts have agreed that as a pharmacist’s workload increases, the likelihood of an error also increases. Some believe that new technology can help pharmacists more accurately and quickly fill prescriptions. According to a recent industry news report, by using state-of-the-art technology to fill orders, pharmacists can free up nearly 90 minutes per day.

Generally, when appropriate technology is used to fill prescriptions, there seems to be a reduction in the error rate. However, some skeptics point to the learning curve that implementing new technology presents, raising a concern that patient safety may be jeopardized as pharmacists get accustomed to frequent changes in the workplace.