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Pharmacy Policies Can Lead to Prescription Errors, Injuries, and Wrongful Deaths

By Jack Lebowitz, Esq. and Vadim Mzhen, Esq.

Prescription errors are a prevalent problem in the United States that too often leads to serious injuries and deaths. A USA Today investigation reports that corporate policies?particularly with the larger pharmacy chains, such as CVS and Walgreens?can lead to unnecessary pharmacy mistakes:

?Too many prescriptions, too few pharmacists. Long shifts and minimal breaks can lead to carelessness, fatigue, and inattention when filling prescriptions.

? A reliance on technicians. Technicians lack the training and experience of qualified pharmacists have and are more prone to unknowingly make mistakes.

? An emphasis on speed. Providing speedy customer service can sometimes take priority over carefully filling a prescription.

? Pharmacist incentive awards. Companies such as CVS and Walgreens provide rewards based on prescription volume.

? Counseling gaps. The occasional failure to provide in-person counseling and direction to customers picking up new prescriptions.

In 2003, an Auburn University pharmacy study estimated that the chances of a person experiencing a serious prescription-related error was 1 in 1000. This can add up to a possible 3.7million pharmacy errors annually.

Common Pharmacy Errors Include:

? Filling the right prescription with the wrong medication.
? Filing the prescription correctly but giving it to the wrong customer.
? Not making sure that the customer understands the instructions for how to take the medication.
? Misreading the doctor?s prescription and filling the prescription incorrectly.

Pharmacy errors and prescription misfills can be grounds for personal injury or wrongful death lawsuits if a patient is injured, becomes ill, or dies as a result. In Maryland and Washington D.C., our personal injury attorneyshave successfully handled injury and wrongful death cases caused by pharmacy mistakes. We would be happy to offer you a free consultation to discuss your case.

Speed, high volume can trigger mistakes, USA Today.com, February 11, 2008

Related Web Resources:

Don't be a victim of pharmacy errors, CNN.com, October 30, 2007

Strategies to Reduce Medication Errors, FDA.gov

Full post as published by Maryland Accident Law Blog on February 13, 2008 (boomark / email).