51.5 million errors occur each year in pharmacies dispensing medications to the general public.
— according to a study by researchers at Auburn University.
7,000 people die each year from medication errors.
— according to statistics published by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.
Pharmacists are more than simply people who place pills into bottles. Pharmacists are highly trained, licensed health care professionals whose main function is to ensure that the medications ordered by your doctors are received by you and that they have the intended beneficial health effects. Pharmacies in all settings have a detailed set of policies and procedures that govern what a pharmacist must do to ensure that a prescription is filled properly. Nonetheless, errors occur at an alarming frequency and often with serious consequences.
Prescription errors can occur in hospitals, nursing homes, and retail outlets, such as pharmacies or grocery stores.
There are many kinds of prescription errors including:
- Filling errors - This includes filling a prescription with the wrong medication, filling a prescription with the wrong dosage of medication, filling a prescription with the wrong customer's prescription, filling a prescription with an insufficient quantity, giving the customer improper instructions about taking the medication, and placing the wrong customer's medication into the customer's bag. Filling errors account for the vast majority of prescription errors.
- Drug interaction errors – pharmacists must complete a drug utilization review when filling a prescription in order to determine whether the customer has an allergies to the medication or whether the medication will interact with other medications to cause the patient harm.
- Failure to counsel – when dispensing medications, pharmacists must talk to the patient to ensure that the medication is appropriate for the patient and the patient's condition and that the patient knows how to take the medication properly.
If you or a loved one is the victim of a prescription error, you should:
- Get needed medical care, making sure to let your doctor know that your problems were the result of a medication error.
- Notify the pharmacy of the occurrence of an error – this reduces the chances that the pharmacy will later claim that the claim of error was fraudulent and more importantly, gives the pharmacy a chance to correct the problem so no one else gets hurt.
- Preserve the physical evidence – this includes the prescription slip, the bag the medication came in, the receipt, the medication bottle, and any remaining medication.
- Obtain qualified legal counsel promptly. There may be a limited time in which you must file suit or you will be unable to recover the compensation you deserve.