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Many people have heard of horrific hospital accounts in which nurses administer incorrect medications and patients die after being injected with the wrong meds or wrong dosage of drugs. Sadly, patients in hospitals are vulnerable to these types of medication errors, and they occur far too often. However, customers of CVS pharmacies and other pharmacies nationwide are also at risk for receiving the wrong medications. In fact, people receive the wrong meds far too often.
Wrong Meds, Wrong Customer, Too Often
There is case after case of pharmacists giving the wrong prescription to the wrong customer—it is more common now than it should be. With the onset of computers and technology continuing to get better and better, there is no excuse why patients are still being given the wrong medications. Unfortunately, unsuspecting customers continue to receive the wrong meds.
One reason this happens at pharmacies across this nation is that pharmacy employees feel like they should know the names of their frequent customers. When a pharmacy technician or pharmacist gets two patients’ names confused with each other and grabs the other’s medication by mistake, an innocent customer can be sent home with the incorrect medication.
What Can Be Done to Prevent Wrong Prescriptions From Going to the Wrong Customer?
Some experts believe that in order to reduce wrong meds from being given to the wrong patients that pharmacists or pharmacy technicians should require all patients—every time—to confirm their identity. This means that customers would need to provide their full name and address before they can receive their prescription medication. While many pharmacies have put this action into practice, other pharmacies have not for fear of offending their repeat customers or frustrating elderly patients or those in a hurry.
If all pharmacists and pharmacies everywhere would require patients’ full names and addresses when medications are picked up, pharmacy patients would get used to it and would expect that they will have to provide their name and address in order to reduce their chances of receiving another person’s medication.
If you or a loved one has been harmed by a prescription mix-up at your local pharmacy, you may have rights to seek compensation for your injuries and damages. To get your questions answered and to find out more about filing a CVS pharmacy claim, call us at 888-526-7616 for a free consultation or request a free copy of our report, How to Make Pharmacies Pay for Injuries Caused by Medication Errors. Request your copy today.