Pharmacists are under a lot of pressure. Pressure to answer the phones, pressure to fill prescriptions on time, and pressure to meet the quota (volume of prescriptions) the pharmacy wants them to achieve. Because of the pressure and time demands placed on pharmacists to fill prescriptions quickly in order to increase profits for the pharmacy chains, more and more cases of pharmacy malpractice are occurring.
The mistakes pharmacists make occur in a number of different ways. One common pharmacy error is when a pharmacist confuses the drugs. When this happens, a patient is given the wrong medication as a result of the drug mix-up by the pharmacist or pharmacy assistant.
How Could a Pharmacist Fill the Prescription with the Wrong Drug?
Many drugs appear similar, have similar names, have the same letters stamped on the individual pills, and are even distributed in the same dosage of milligrams. Additionally, some pharmacies keep medication in similar-looking containers and may even keep easily confused drugs in the same drawer or area.
When a pharmacist or pharmacy technician is in a hurry, is multitasking or is distracted, he or she can pick up the wrong medication because it is similar to another drug in some way. Cases of pharmacy malpractice have occurred because the prescription was filled with the wrong medication due to the following:
- Pharmacists confuse drugs that have the same letters stamped on the pills.
- Pharmacists confuse medications that look similar and have the same dosage of milligrams.
- Pharmacists confuse pills that sound-alike.
It is scary to realize how easy it is for something like this to take place. If a pharmacist doesn’t catch the mistake when double or triple-checking the prescription, the patient may suffer serious consequences.
When pharmacy budgets don’t allow for an adequate number of pharmacists or other pharmacy employees to handle high volumes of prescriptions and if large corporate pharmacies continue to stress speed in filling prescriptions, then more pharmacy errors will occur.
If you or a loved one has been the victim of a pharmacist’s mistake, call Kennedy Hodges L.L.P. for a free consultation with an experienced pharmacy error lawyer at 888-526-7616. Make sure you also request a FREE copy of our report, How to Make Pharmacies Pay for Injuries Caused by Medication Errors.