Articles Posted in Pharmacy Errors in the News

The nursing community has been on edge awaiting the sentencing of Radonda Vaught, a former Tennessee nurse who was recently convicted of negligent homicide for her role in the death of a patient she was treating at a nursing home. Criminal prosecutions for medication errors are rare, and generally reserved for situations where the conduct of the defendant was grossly negligent, egregious, and preventable. A national news source recently published an article discussing the sentence that the former nurse Ms. Vaught was given, as well as the case as a whole and the effect that Vaught’s prosecution may have on the nursing home industry.

According to the facts discussed in the news report, Ms. Vaught was convicted of negligent homicide in March of 2022 based on the death of a patient she was caring for in 2017 at a nursing home. The jury found beyond a reasonable doubt that Ms. Vaught was criminally negligent when she inadvertently gave her patient a tranquilizer instead of an anti-anxiety medication (the medications had similar sounding names). The dose of the tranquilizer that was given by Ms. Vaught to her patient was unsafe, and ultimately resulted in the patient’s death. The prosecution argued that serious criminal penalties were warranted because several warning signs were ignored, and Ms. Vaught overrode an automated medication dispensing system that would have prevented the mix-up.

After considering arguments from both sides, as well as testimony from the widower and children of the deceased patient, the judge decided to sentence Ms. Vaught to three years of probation in lieu of prison time. Although Ms. Vaught will avoid prison, she has already faced serious consequences for her mistake, as her nursing license was recently revoked based upon the incident. The article noted that the children of the deceased patient testified that their mother was a very forgiving person, and would not want Ms. Vaught to serve prison time for her mistake.

During the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, the importance of quality medical personnel and staff was amplified more than ever.

Pharmacies, doctor’s offices, and hospitals, however, were incredibly busy places even before the pandemic, where medical professionals are often overworked and frequently understaffed. Because overwhelming demand and limited supply can create longer hours and higher pressure working environments for our medical professionals, mistakes often happen. Most commonly, mistakes take place when administering or prescribing medication to patients, which can have deadly consequences.

According to a recent news report, a federal jury found three of the country’s largest pharmacy chains liable for contributing to the opioid crisis in two counties. The verdict was the first time that the retail arm of the drug industry has ever been held accountable in what is now a decades-long opioid epidemic. In this case, the plaintiffs argued that major retailers CVS, Walgreens, and Walmart had turned a blind eye to suspicious opioid orders for years. At both local pharmacies and corporate headquarters, the plaintiffs argued, oversight requirements in all three major retailers failed to take red flags into account, which led to the pharmaceutical companies contributing to the creation and sustained nature of the opioid public health crisis.

Pharmacy staff members are reporting unprecedented levels of burnout across the country, according to one recent article. In the article, leaders in the pharmacy field explain the negative effects that burnout can have on patient safety—an impact that may be felt among Maryland pharmacy patients who may suffer from Maryland pharmacy errors. Burnout is characterized by emotional exhaustion, a low sense of personal accomplishment, cynicism, and depersonalization. It can happen in any profession, but in the pharmacy field, where it can affect pharmacists and other staff, its effect can result in increased medication errors. A 2018 study found that 53 percent of the health system pharmacists reported a high degree of burnout. One chief pharmacy office reported that record-high hospital volumes and pharmacy technician shortages have been challenges for the field. Another noted that studies have shown that burnout is linked to medical error and medication errors.

Victims of Maryland pharmacy errors can file a claim against the pharmacy or other people or entities responsible for the error. Individuals who may be liable for the error include the doctor who ordered the medication, the pharmacy technician who dispensed the medication, and the pharmacist who provided the medication. Entities may also be liable including pharmacies, healthcare groups, and hospitals. Someone who has been injured because of a medical error has to show that the defendant acted or failed to act in some way that caused the plaintiff harm. A plaintiff has to prove that it is more likely than not that the harm the plaintiff suffered was caused by the defendant’s conduct. This means that a plaintiff must prove both that the defendant’s wrongful conduct was the actual cause of the plaintiff’s harm and also that the harm that occurred was sufficiently foreseeable so that the defendant should be held liable for its wrongful conduct.

How Long Do You Have to File a Maryland Medication Error Lawsuit?

Maryland medication error lawsuits generally have to be filed within three years of the victim’s injury, though there are exceptions in some cases. Consulting with an attorney as soon after the injury is advisable though, as evidence can disappear with time and many cases require a lot of investigation prior to filing the claim—such as finding out who the proper defendants are and gathering evidence of fault and of damages. Patients who file successful medication error claims may be able to recover financial compensation for damages. Compensation for damages may include past and future medical treatment, lost wages, psychological suffering, pain, and more.

COVID-19 tests are now available for free at many Maryland pharmacies throughout the state. Maryland pharmacies conducting COVID-19 testing include CVS, Rite Aid, Walgreens, and Walmart, as well as some local independent pharmacies. However, the use of testing at these pharmacies raises questions about adequate staffing, particularly after such issues were raised prior to the pandemic.

According to a recent news source, Walgreens Pharmacy reported a coding error that resulted in incorrect COVID-19 testing data. The error meant that around 59,000 COVID-19 test results would be added to the state’s statistics that were not previously reported. It was not clear how many of those tests were positive and what brought about the error. According to the Department of State Health Services, there were previous issues with reporting that have caused additional issues with the state’s statistics. The state said that additional data was being reported from July when a private testing lab did not correctly report about 250,000 positive tests. The state was trying to separate the data and send the information to the appropriate county. The state reported a delay in reporting due to the errors.

The report of the pharmacy error comes just a month after CVS was fined for medication errors and under staffing. The Oklahoma State Board of Pharmacy fined the company last month after a report earlier this year that the company understaffed its pharmacies, putting patients at risk. The state pharmacy board subsequently launched an investigation and imposed $125,000 in fines. The COVID-19 testing being carried out by the pharmacies may be further burdening pharmacies and overworked pharmacists, potentially leading to medication errors and putting patients at greater risk.

Testing for COVID-19 has ramped up in recent months. While initially, tests were hard to come by, today most Maryland pharmacies are conducting tests, making them widely available. However, the surge in testing has resulted in a corresponding increase in the number of experts who are concerned that tests are providing people with false-negative results. Given the highly contagious nature of COVID-19, false negatives have the potential to cause a resurgence in the virus, putting everyone at risk.

According to a recent news report, 12 people who were tested at a Walgreen’s pharmacy were initially told that they were negative for COVID-19, only to learn later that was not the case. Evidently, the erroneous results came out of Delaware, where the local government had an agreement with Walgreen’s. In all, Walgreen’s collected over 2,900 samples at drive-up testing sites.

The tests appeared to be accurate, and the problem was not with the reliability of the test. In fact, the state Department of Health reviewed each of the Walgreen’s tests for accuracy and confirmed that “no patients who tested negative were given incorrect results.” However, 12 patients were called and told that they tested negative when, in fact, they had tested positive. The report notes that the error did not occur at the local Walgreen’s stores, implying that the lab may have been responsible for the errors.