Go to navigation Go to content

Types of Errors

Dangerous and Defective Drugs If you put your trust in a pharmaceutical company and were hurt by their product, you deserve compensation for your suffering.
Wrong Medication Did you receive the wrong medication or incorrect prescription from a pharmacy? If you have suffered because of a medication error please call us for a free case review.
Wrong Dosage Common forms of medication error: incorrect dosage error. Order our free book to learn how to protect yourself and your family from wrong dosage errors.
Other Errors Order our free book, "How to Make Pharmacies Pay for your Injuries Caused by Medication Errors, to learn your rights in prescription error cases.
Kids Rx Errors Order a free copy of The Top 10 Tips to Protect Your Children Against Pharmacy Errors. If you have suffered a prescription error contact our firm today.
Pharmacy Malpractice If you have suffered an injury because a pharmacy dispensed the wrong medication or made an error with your prescription, you are able to file a claim for negligence or malpractice and receive the compensation you deserve.
Walgreens Pharmacy Error Claims There have been numerous claims brought against Walgreens for pharmacy errors or prescription errors. Order our free book to learn how to take action.
CVS Pharmacy Error Claims If you've been injured because of a CVS Pharmacy prescription error, call us for help with your lawsuit at 888-526-7616.
State Pharmacy Boards If you have been severely injured because of a medication error, contact board-certified attorneys immediately to investigate your case free of charge.
Drug & Pharmacy Error Prevention Filing a pharmacy error lawsuit is the only way to make pharmacies take accountability for mistakes. Call our board certified attorneys for a free case review.
State Pharmacy Laws State laws on pharmacy malpractice. Learn the pharmacy error Statute of Limitation laws that apply to your state. Call 877-342-2020 for a free consultation.

How Fatal Pharmacy Errors Can Be Prevented with Software Alerts

Galvin B. Kennedy
Connect with me
  • LinkedIn
  • YouTube
  • Google+
Partner at Kennedy Hodges LLP practicing personal injury, pharmacy error, and overtime law
Comments (0)

Doctors and pharmacists have a duty of care to prescribe and administer medication accurately, which is why extreme care should be used when prescribing medication or administering doses. However, sometimes healthcare professionals bypass their duties of being careful and cautious, which is why it is good that there are computer software programs in place—to catch drug interactions or fatal doses of medications when doctors fail to do so.

Doctors who participate in e-prescribing have computerized physician order entry (CPOE) systems that alerts them if they are prescribe patients drugs that they are allergic to or that interacts with other medications they are already taking. Additionally, these systems will check for incorrect doses and flag fatal doses to reduce medication errors. While these computerized systems sound foolproof, medication errors can still occur if doctors dismiss the warnings and alerts, or write out a prescription by hand that isn’t so clear.

While pharmacists are trained to double and even triple check prescriptions and call physicians if they have any questions, many pharmacists are too busy—leaving them to guess or fill the wrong drug or dosage of medication. However, there should be no excuse when it comes to a patient’s safety. Pharmacists, especially those in hospitals, have some form of computer system that alerts them of fatal doses. Unfortunately, there has been cases in which the software failed to alert pharmacists of the dangers, and there have been times when pharmacists have dismissed the alerts that have come up on their computer screens.

While computer software programs in the healthcare industry do help reduce prescription drug mistakes, errors can still occur if pharmacists don’t detect the mistakes. This is why it is critical that you always know what medication you are taking, along with the correct dosage.

If you have been harmed by pharmacy negligence, we welcome you to call us for legal advice. We will also give you our free report How to Make Pharmacies Pay for Injuries Caused by Medication Error.

Be the first to comment!

Post a Comment

To reply to this message, enter your reply in the box labeled "Message", hit "Post Message."

Name:*

Email:* (will not be published)

Message:*

Notify me of follow-up comments via email.

Tweet