Medication Errors are Preventable
Medication errors are one of the nation's leading cause of death, killing more people each year than motor vehicle accidents, breast cancer, or AIDS. Further, experts agree that the majority of medication errors are preventable.
My experience with legal cases and claims confirms this. Over the years I have represented people across the nation who have been injured by a pharmacy mis-fill. My clients range from infants to the elderly and the majority of our pharmacy cases involve preventable error.
In almost every instance, errors in the pharmacy involve some sort of human error. For example, the pharmacist or pharmacy tech fails to ensure that the right customer receives the right medication in the right dosage with the right label and/or administration instructions. Other contributing factors include:
- Environmental Distractions - increasing customer demands, work interruptions such as ringing telephones, high noise levels, and other distractions common to a busy pharmacy.
- Staffing Issues - this usually concerns too few pharmacists and pharmacy techs, some of whom may not have the necessary experience or training.
- Procedure Breakdowns - polices, procedures and protocols designed to enhance safety are not always followed.
Add to this the profit objectives of the large retail pharmacy, and pharmacy errors represent a growing problem with potentially fatal consequences.
While pharmacy errors may be a reality of our present day, customers of pharmacys can keep themselves safe by making sure they carefully inspect their medication before leaving the pharmacy.
Moreover, if a re-filled medication looks different in color, shape, size, or appearance, talk to your pharmacist before you take the medication. I have had at least 20 cases where my client assumed that the different looking medication was from a different manufacturer or was a so-called generic drug.
