Thursday, March 8, 2012

Wrong pills at the pharmacy


CVS has been on the  news recently for dispensing the wrong medication at a a pharmacy in New Jersey. And not just to one person but to fifteen people instead of fluoride pills. That's a big oops! I mean a really big oops. Imagine if it was something potentially toxic to children. A medication taken at the wrong dose could be fatal.

I once received the wrong prescription. I was given the wrong dose of synthroid. I noticed it when I got home and took it back to the pharmacy, also a CVS. They were very apologetic but I did lose my confidence with them. I then switched pharmacies. But I also took up the  habit of checking my pills as soon as I got home from the pharmacy. Did they look like the picture on the side of the bottle? Did they look like my last prescription?

I have noticed pharmacies have more checks now. I often see a row of bottles lined up with their paperwork to be double checked on the pharmacy back counter. I know pharmacies are better about informing customers about changes in manufacturers and potential differences in medications from the last prescription pick up.

So how did this pharmacy manage to fill fifteen prescriptions wrong? Was someone asleep on the job? Maybe the store should just close that pharmacy as I am sure they have lost their customers' confidence. Me? I'll just keep double checking my pills.

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