Pharmacy Malpractice
According to the Journal of the American Pharmaceutical Association, “dispensing errors are a problem on a national level, at a rate of four errors per day in a pharmacy filling 250 prescriptions daily.” The 2003 article also stated that “an estimated 51.5 million errors occur during the filling of 3 billion prescriptions each year. This figure includes 3.3 million errors of potential clinical importance.”
When prescriptions are improperly prescribed or filled, the use of the drugs can lead to death or injury in a number of ways, including severe adverse reactions, improper combinations of drugs, and deprivation of medications essential to a patient’s well being.
In a recent study for the Institute for Safe Medication Practices, 307 hospital pharmacies were asked to fill 10 different drug orders that had killed patients in 1998. Some contained an overdose, and the remainder were for deadly drug combinations. Shockingly, only four of the 307 pharmacies detected all 10 unsafe orders.
Several factors account for the appalling number of Americans killed each year as a result of the faulty prescribing or filling of medications:
- The existence of prescription medications with nearly identical names.
- An increase in the number of medications being prescribed.
- Prescriptions filled by unqualified personnel.
- The proliferation of drugs used to treat a single disease or condition.
- Overburdened pharmacists required to fill too many prescriptions in a given time frame.
The North Carolina Board of Pharmacy established a 150 prescriptions per pharmacist per day threshold for citing both the pharmacist and the permit holder in a disciplinary proceeding. The Board adopted this threshold level using information presented at the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy (NABP) Health Law Officers Conference in 1996. Experts on this program gave the range of not more than 10 to 20 prescriptions per hour as established levels of safe dispensing.
However, pharmacists everywhere often exceed this threshold. Modern pharmacies are very complicated and complex. Automated machines and computers are supposed to make going to the pharmacy simpler and easier, but errors still occur and constant vigilance is imperative for saving lives.
Pharmacy experts say a big part of the problem is a shortage of pharmacists. In a study of 500 pharmacist malpractice claims conducted by Pharmacists Mutual Insurance Company, the following types of errors were identified: Wrong Drug Dispensed 52%, Wrong Strength Dispensed 27%, Wrong Directions Given 7.4%, for a total of 86.4% of errors that could have been prevented.
A Pharmacy Today survey (published December 15, 1996) asked, "What could cause dispensing errors?". Of 187 responses from 171 pharmacists and 16 pharmacy paraprofessionals, insufficient filling time and too many distractions were identified as two of the major areas of concern. Ringing telephones and customer questions unrelated to medication were frequent sources of interruption. Also, unrealistic workload requirements, inadequate technician assistance, and a non supportive system (with no provision for one person to check the work of another) were also identified as factors that can increase the rate of error. In short, many dispensing errors are caused by stress, distraction, or lack of backup.
If a pharmacy error led to serious health complications or death
for you or someone you love, it is important that you understand your legal rights. The effects of pharmacy malpractice can be long-lasting and even fatal, affecting the victim’s entire family. An experienced and compassionate attorney can help you and your loved ones fight for justice and security.
The Law Offices of William F. Horsley, P.A. has experience helping victims of pharmacy malpractice in the state of North Carolina. Please contact us if you have any questions about an injury you have suffered, or to report a pharmacy malpracitce case that you have. You may call us at 1-800-953-2542 or contact us through our
online form.
< Back to Practice Areas
|
