It is no longer surprising that medication errors are rampant. Not only do people receive wrong dosages of medications at pharmacies and hospitals, but dosage errors also occur due to drug suppliers or manufacturing facilities. While lessons should be learned from mistakes made in prior years, some of the same mistakes are still occurring today and patients receive incorrect dosages of medication. Some examples of wrong dosages of medication include:
- Over 200 patients received double their prescriptions of potassium acetate at seven hospitals in the Maryland and Washington, D.C. region in 2010. The wrong dose of the drug was entered into the IV compounder software. The drug dose should have been 2 mEq/mL; however, MedStar filled vials with a 4 mEq/mL solution. The new vials had the same labels indicating the lower dose, and many patients received the wrong dosage of medication as a result.
- Over 1,200 cancer patients received a diluted chemotherapy drug at Canadian hospitals between 2012 and 2013. A pharmacist assistant at Peterborough Regional Health Center discovered that the medication from the new supplier didn’t have the concentration of the drug gemcitabine written on the label like the previous supplier’s drug. The new supply from Marchese Health Solutions was confirmed to be a diluted chemotherapy drug, and as a result, patients received an underdose of needed medication.
- Many patients at pharmacies nationwide have received the wrong dosage of medication. For example, a Rite Aid pharmacy gave a Seattle woman an incorrect dosage of medication last year. In fact, she received a double dose of the drug at 500 milligrams instead of the 250 milligram capsules she was supposed to be taking. Sadly, this situation is not unique. Pharmacy errors occur all the time.
While many patients or healthcare workers catch mistakes before anyone gets injured, some wrong dosage errors are not caught in time and many people suffer adverse side effects of receiving the wrong drug dose. If you suffered harm as a result of pharmacy negligence or negligence on the part of a drug supplier, drug manufacturer, or hospital, give the knowledgeable pharmacy error attorneys at Kennedy Hodges, L.L.P. a call at 888-526-7616 for a free consultation and receive a FREE copy of our report, How to Make Pharmacies Pay for Injuries Caused by Medication Errors.