Pharmacy Error (When Pharmacist Gives Wrong Medication)
A pharmacy error could cause many adverse effects to a person or even lead to death. Pharmacy Malpractice happens a lot more than most people think.
The statistics according to Health Affairs, http://content.healthaffairs.org/content/30/4/596.full.html, indicate that pharmacy errors cost upwards of 17 billion dollars.
Sadly, these mistakes result in needless deaths to patients who are trusting their pharmacists and doctors. When a pharmacy gives the wrong dosage or dispenses the wrong medical, the effects range from death of a patient, to minor inconveniences.
In this guide, you will learn what to do if a pharmacy gives you the wrong medication, dosage, or prescription.
Here is a brief outline of what to do if you become a victim of a pharmacy error:
- Call your Doctor Right Away
- Call the Pharmacy Immediately
- Do NOT Give the Mis-Filled Medication Under Any Circumstance
- Save the Unused Medication
- Save the Bag
- Save the Receipt
- Save the Empty Bottle
- Do NOT Give a Recorded Statement to Anyone Without the Help of a Lawyer
Each pharmacy error is unique in the negligence and side effects caused by the error. A study by the Massachusetts Office of Health and Human Services in 2008 found that the most common causes of errors cited by pharmacists were:
- Too many telephone calls
- Overloaded or unusually busy day
- Too many customers
- Lack of concentration
- No one available to double check
- Staffing shortages
- Similar drug names
- No time to counsel the patient
- Illegible prescription
- Misinterpreted prescription
A pharmacy error is NOT technically considered as a medical malpractice claim. However, the statute of limitations for a pharmacy error is only 2 years in the state of Florida.
This means you only have 2 years to file a lawsuit to protect your rights if you become a victim of pharmacy negligence. It is governed by Fla. Statute §95.11(4)(a), which sets time limitations for actions based on professional malpractice.
When a pharmacy or pharmacist makes a mistake, the consequences can be fatal. Medication errors are among the most common medical errors, harming at least 1.5 million people every year.
Who is in charge at the pharmacy?
Is the pharmacist really running the pharmacy, or are our medications being dispensed like cheeseburgers?
Unfortunately, corporate greed and profits often cause pharmaceutical mistakes.
Common mistakes made by a pharmacy include:
High Volume – High Stress Pharmacies:
Some pharmacies are run like busy fast food restaurants. They have to process thousands of prescriptions per day.
Unfortunately, with high volume demands and pressure from their employers, most pharmacists have a stressful job which leads to mistakes. Sometimes their mistakes are fatal.
Many pharmacies are national chains and demand a high volume of sales from their pharmacists. Pharmacists that work for national chains are measured by quotas. Some have to fill as many as 50 prescriptions per hour. These type of high volume pharmacies cause a lot of errors.
Some pharmacists are overly stressed by the seemingly ever-increasing prescription volume. These pharmacists need to be aware that workload issues are not a defense against liability for dispensing errors. They are personally responsible for their errors and their employer is equally liable for any damages caused by high volume mistakes.
Sometimes the work environment in a pharmacy is just not a safe place for patients. The work environment for some pharmacies has varying conditions that all combine to make filling a prescription harder than it is supposed to be.
For example, the workload may be just too much for the pharmacy employees to handle. Being a pharmacist is a stressful job when you stop and consider the complexity of their job, as well as the demands of customers, doctors, managers, and co-workers.
Many pharmacies add to the stress by allowing too many interruptions to the work flow. Things like taking phone calls, being asked to help with the cash register, employee morale, and attendance problems can all add to the distractions which lead to pharmacy errors.
Often times the noise level in a pharmacy is a distraction. Consider the phone calls, other employees talking to customers, announcements over the intercom, drive-through speaker, and trying to concentrate on what you’re doing all at the same time.
Sound Alike Errors:
Many medications have similar names that sound alike. Pharmacists make mistakes due to the similar sound of medicines that, usually, have totally different uses. When the wrong medication is given, problems occur.
For example, we handled a case in which the doctor ordered an oral solution of Lidocane, but the pharmacist delivered Lindane. Lidocane was prescribed to help the woman who had an oral yeast infection be able to tolerate the yeast pills with Lidocane which numbs the mouth, and allows the bad tasting yeast to stay in the mouth longer.
Unfortunately, the pharmacist gave our client a bottle of Lindane, which is a lice poison, which should only be used on the skin, and never taken in the mouth. Our client followed her doctor’s instructions and when she put the Lindane in her mouth, it burned terribly and tasted horrible.
So she called the pharmacy to tell them about the bad taste and burning feeling. The pharmacist told her “all medicine tastes bad, and you have to hold it in your mouth for a long time to get the therapeutic effect.”
Unfortunately, our client followed the pharmacist’s instructions, took a big mouthful of the Lindane, held it in her mouth as long as she could, until the pain was unbearable. She spit out the Lindane and her mouth was bleeding. She then developed sores on the inside of her mouth for the rest of her life.
The doctors put her on steroids for years to reduce the inflammation in her mouth. This case went all the way to a jury trial.
The Food and Drug Administration tracks reports of medication errors caused by drug name confusion. The FDA cites the inadvertent administration of Methadone rather than the intended Metadate ER (methylphenidate) for the treatment of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.
Some other examples of documented confusion from the FDA include:
- Serzone (nefazodone) and Seroquel (quetiapine);
- Lamictal (lamotrigine) and Lamisil (terbinafine);
- Taxotere (docetaxel) and Taxol (paclitaxel);
- Zantac (ranitidine), Zyrtec (cetirizine), and Zyprexa (olanzapine);
- Celebrex (celecoxib) and Celexa (citalopram);
- In 1994, the FDA changed a drug name after it was approved when the thyroid medicine Levoxine (levothyroxine) was being confused with the heart medicine Lanoxin (digoxin). Meadows M. Strategies to reduce medication errors. FDA Consumer. 2003;37(3). www.fda.gov/fdac/features/2003/303_meds.html. Accessed October 1, 2008.
Improper Compounding Errors:
In some pharmacies, the pharmacists literally make the medicine as prescribed by the doctor. The pharmacist literally compounds various chemicals and medicines to make just what the doctor ordered.
We handle cases where the pharmacist made a mistake and caused the medicine they compounded to be 3,000 times the strength of what it was supposed to be. This caused a terrible reaction to the patient causing multiple stays in the hospital and hundreds of thousands of dollars of treatment to restore our client’s health. This mistake could have easily been avoided if the pharmacist had been more careful.
In fact, the large chain pharmacy fired the pharmacist after realizing the mistake. A math miscalculation can happen easily and the pharmacist needs to pay special attention to the desired dosage.
Improper Drug Strength, Dosage Errors:
Another common pharmacy error is that when the pharmacist fills the prescription, they do so with the wrong strength dosage. Either too strong or too weak. For example, and doctor may order 0.25mg and the pharmacists dispenses 25mg, which is 100 times more than the doctor ordered.
This is another risk that often leads to hospitalization and health risks. On a low level, a medication error may not cause a problem for a patient, but high level errors can result in severe complications for the patient, including death.
These types of medication errors are difficult to detect because we rely upon the pharmacist to do their job properly. Sadly, how is someone to know if the prescription was filled properly? If you have concerns about the concentration of your medication, please consult your doctor and ask them to confirm that the strength of your medicine is in the amount the doctor has prescribed for you.
Mislabeling Instruction Errors:
This is when the proper medication is given, but the instructions are wrong. This often causes inadequate instructions to be given to the patient and they inadvertently take the medication in a way that harms them.
Mistakes include frequency of taking the medication, too often or not often enough, how much to take, too much or too little, what not to take with the medication to prevent side effects, or the side effects that may be experienced from the medication.
Contraindicated Errors:
Pharmacies occasionally fill a prescription that is “contraindicated,” when a pharmacist has been filling a patient’s prescription for a while they should know what two different medications cannot be taken together. For example, high blood pressure medication cannot be taken with angiotensin medications.
This can happen when a patient sees two different doctors, one doctor for one condition, and another doctor for a different condition and one of the doctors did not know that the patient was taking a certain kind of medicine which cannot be taken with the medication that the doctor just prescribed.
If a pharmacist were to fill both prescriptions without warning the patient or calling the doctor, then this is an unfortunate pharmacy error that they should catch. Isotretinoin, a drug used to treat acne, is absolutely contraindicated in pregnancy due to the risk of birth defects. A person who takes Warfarin to thin the blood should not take aspirin.
These are common knowledge to any pharmacist. And any pharmacist dispensing any of these types of medications should warn the patient about these risks and side effects.
Dispensing drugs that are beyond the expiration date:
Some pharmacies have old stock, and rather than destroy the medication, they dispense it. This often causes the patient to receive a dosage that has become weaker over time due to its aging.
Substituting Generic Drugs Without Informing the Patient:
Dispensing a generic drug, which is substituted for a brand name drug without informing the patient of the substitution, is a common occurrence. This usually does not cause adverse side effects to the patient, but occasionally it does.
This is often a profit scheme by some pharmacies. If you have questions about the efficacy of a generic drug, you should ask your physician.
Improper Refilling Errors:
Refilling a prescription without proper authorization from the prescribing physician.
Failing to Counsel the Patient:
This is governed by Florida Administrative Code section 64B16-27.820 Patient Counseling which requires that the pharmacist is to make sure their patient is fully informed about the medication that is being given to them. Pharmacy Counseling is one of the best ways to prevent pharmaceutical errors.
Counseling by the pharmacist with the patient provides many benefits and is also particularly effective in reducing mistakes. Many errors, such as the wrong medication, will be caught during a counseling session.
A good pharmacist will ask:
- What did the physician tell you the drug is for?
- How were you told to take the medication?
- What directions did the physician provide for taking the medication?
The pharmacist can then compare this information with the drug and label and recognize any discrepancies between what the patient says and what the medicine is being used for.
But when a pharmacist is too busy to talk with the patient, or the pharmacist is good at asking the questions, but is not really listening to the patient, then a medication error can happen easily. As a patient, when you are having you or your family’s prescription filled, take the time to ask questions, make sure the pharmacist meets with you to review the medication.
Make sure that you and the pharmacist agree upon what the medical condition is that the medication is supposed to treat. Then make certain that you and the pharmacist address the strength of the medication being given to you, and how and when the medication is supposed to be taken.
Then address any complications that may happen due to taking other medications at the same time. The old adage that an ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure is certainly applicable when it comes time to pick up your medicine at your pharmacy.
Conclusion:
A pharmacy error that causes serious injury or death is an avoidable mistake, and a patient’s worst nightmare. If you suspect a pharmacy error, here are a few steps you should take immediately to preserve your health and legal rights.
You need to know that the pharmacy has policies and procedures in place designed to protect their rights not yours once a mistake is suspected. The pharmacists and their staff are trained to immediately obtain possession of the misfilled prescription.
This is so they can “get it away from causing further harm” but in reality it has more to do with eliminating the evidence to be used against them. I can’t tell you how many times the pharmacy later says something like, well, we saved the bottle for a while, it was on a shelf back there, and I guess someone threw it away.
So, I urge you to hold onto any and all evidence you can to help protect your ability to prove that the pharmacy made a mistake.
I hope you have found this information helpful. If you have a question, please feel free to call my office and we will be glad to discuss your particular situation and see if there is anything we can do to help.
About Author
Matt Powell is a Board Certified Civil Trial Lawyer by the Florida Bar who represents injured victims and their families. He is an experienced personal injury trial attorney who has been practicing since 1989 in Tampa, Florida. Simply call our offices or fill out our contact form to schedule a free consultation today.
Can you help me in Arizona? CVS changed my prescription of testosterone by over 100%, when I eventually was seen by my physician she about had a heart attack when I told her the amount of testosterone I have been taking. Do I have any legal recourse? Besides having joint pain, I do not think I am hurt beyond “hurtung” if that makes sense? My fear is that I will develop prostate cancer or something as a result now. .what should I do? My best educated guess of my overdosing duration is approx 8 to 10 weeks or so.
Rich Tyler
rich.tyler.jr@gmail.com
You do have legal recourse. Please find an attorney in your state to bring this action. It is obvious that you have suffered some damages, but you will need your doctors, or other experts to quantify the full extent of your over dose of testosterone.
I recently noticed that the pills in my bottle didn’t match the pill number on the label. Found out it was sun mark Tylenol in the bottle something I found was sold by the online drug store through wal mart. Wal greens said there no way they could have put the wrong pills in the bottle. It is a pain medication and I was taking more than I normally do. I started feeling bad with stomach issues and diarrhea so I was in the bed for a week. I usually take half a pill instead of a whole to try and cut back on pain meds and decided to take the whole and it was liking taking aspirin. Thanks
David, there are two things you need to do. First contact your physician and discuss how this mistake may have affected your health. If you have damages, then hire an attorney in your area to bring your claim against the pharmacy. No matter what, don’t give the pharmacy back the medicine that was mis filled. You will need that to protect your claim. I hope you are fine and do not have any injuries from this mistake. Good luck. Matt
My aunt lives alone in a carehome at south California. She is primary care giver of an elderly home. Yesterday morning she picked up her prescription for diabetes metformin. Then last night she was about to ty take it and noticed it looked different that what she usually takes. So thats when she read the bottle and saw that it was trazadone 50 mg. She got scared she almost took a medication that is fir somebody else. What can she do
The great news is that she discovered the mistake before something bad happened. And if there are no damages, there is no basis to bring a legal claim. I suggest the pharmacy be contacted and advised of their mistake, and possibly notify the California Pharmacy Board and ask them for advice. https://www.pharmacy.ca.gov/
I opened my bottle of medicine & noticed that there was one pill on top of the cotton. This made me pay attention to it & compare it to the pills under the cotton. They are not the same. Not sure if this is a big deal or not.
It might be a big deal if you had taken the medication and suffered some sort of reaction. It sounds like you were fortunate not to take the mis filled prescription. I suggest you notify the pharmacy and pharmacist about the error. Lets hope they take steps in the future to prevent such mistakes.
On 12/28/2018, I was charged $4,178.40 on my Amex for fertility meds which were delivered. Due to some logistical issue on their end, I received two boxes instead of one – i.e. double my order. I did not realize this until a few days later as I was out of town and my husband took receipt and put meds into the fridge. I called the Pharmacy (in MA) to let them know and a week or two passed until I received a call from them requesting that I return the meds which I planned to do initially (and thus the phone call to this company – they would have never known otherwise that I had received additional medication). What made me concerned was that the CSR told me not to worry about returning the meds on ice (these are meds- Gonal/Cetrocide that need to be refrigerated and were delivered to me on dry ice). Upon a cursory search of this firm I was concerned with my findings and their alleged shady business practices. I was advised by local pharmacists that as the firm itself states in it’s Better Business Bureau’s description that ‘state and federal law prohibits return of dispensed medications’. I neither wanted the liability nor the guilt/responsibility of having these meds improperly transported back to this Pharmacy then re-dispensed to another unknowing hopeful mother-to-be. Since then I have been contacted by their Pharmacy’s representatives several times requesting a return of the extra meds. Today, 4/10/2019, received an invoice dated 3/26/2019 for $4,178.40 for the meds I was sent by their error back in December 2018. I still have said meds and am happy to return to a reputable local pharmacy that I know will not return said medications to inventory nor re-dispense the medication but instead dispose of the meds properly. I have reached out to the appropriate state and federal governing boards to report this pharmacy’s business practices and to find a solution for disposing of these medications that does not include Fertility Freedom Pharmacy. Question is 1) does the pharmacy have the legal right to compel me to return of the medication sent in error (or alternatively is this illegal?) and then invoice me for not complying? 2) If not, should I reach out to an attorney?
Thank you for your question. You might write on the medication package about returning the medication. I agree, they can’t use it again.
I have migraines with auras. I am 52 and entering menopause and live in the state of GA. Due to my increased risk of migraine induced strokes, my OBGYN prescribed a low dose of progesterone to help with my hot flashes, 100mg. My pharmacy doubled the dosage of my medication which resulted in 12 days of migraines ( 12 days of the increased dose) before the mistake was caught. The company contacted me, refunded the cost of my migraine medication and apologized. I have the bottle and one of the pills. Both the pharmacy and I spoke to my OBGYN and my neurologist. I have appointments set with both of them for later this month (I teach and can’t be out during testing season). Today I received a letter offering me $3000 if I signed off on ligation. That makes me uncomfortable. Do I need an attorney?
Hi Ingrid, Yes, you need an attorney. I think your case is worth more than $3,000.00. I suggest you hire someone in your area to review your case and advise you. Good luck.
I am undergoing IVF and received the wrong medication from my pharmacy AFTER I asked the pharmacist to cross-check the current RX and was told that what I have is correct. But I was given the wrong medication and I took it for a week, before catching it. It was not compounded (for microdose) so I took the full concentrated medication which impacted my cycle/process and I had to cancel the cycle. I paid $2,500 of IVF medications – and it’s now wasted. I consulted with my obgyn, and my fertility doctors and was told to wait for it to “flush out” of my body and get my period again. They estimated it to be 2-4 weeks. It’s been over a month and no period. My body has been impacted and especially that I am trying to conceive. Do I have a case? I am trying to get a full refund of the medications but the pharmacy refused to claim responsibility.
Hi MM,
You have a good case. I suggest you call my office to discuss this in more detail.
Hi…my doctor perscibed me phentermine and the pharmacy gave me phenobarbital 15mg instead to take twice a day…I grew concern when i was dizzy and felt like i was drunk. Caused me a visit to the ER..and now i have medical bills…are the paharmacy liable for negligence…
Yes, they are negligent. Please seek an attorney to get help. Good luck, Matt
Hi Matt,
Can u recommend a Board certified lawyer in Tor, canada. 2 pharmacists dispensed double dosage of Bp pills, amlodipine. It shld be 5mg not 10mg. I took meds for a mo by the 1st pharmacist when I had it trnsfrd to 2nd pharmacy they dispensed 10mg also & the next day i gave them refill & discovered wrong mg was given but didn’t cll me. she sd she wa busy w lots of patients, depend on automation call w/c was 2wks after & i was on trip to lake tahoe & felt soo sick nearly passed out few times had to rest. The Ida (1st) offered me $196/Rexall (2nd) gave me gift card of $25. Now what should i do, can i claim for damages?
pls help me. thanks
catherine devera
kitsdevera@sympatico.ca
Hi Catherine,
Unfortunately, I don’t know any attorneys in Toronto Canada. I suggest you contact the bar association and ask them for guidance.
Pharmacy gave my daughter someone else meds she took it not checking bottle for her name thinking it was hers since we had just picked it up ended uo having a serious reaction had to go to er and wad told side effects will last three days what should i do
Hi Charles,
Great question. First, Don’t give back the medication. Second, hire an attorney to put the pharmacy and pharmacist on notice of the mistake (this will help them check their policies and procedures to help prevent this from happening again) and have a letter sent to the pharmacy and pharmacist to compensate your family for the emergency room visit.
Hi There,
I noticed a different pill in my pill batch. I looked it up and it’s a medicine for adhd. Not knowing if that was the only pill in there that wasn’t right so I have a case?
Hi Janell,
You are a victim of a mistake, but fortunately you do not have any damages from their mistake. Be thankful.
Good luck to you. Matt
Good evening Matt,
My daughter (10 yrs old) has crohn’s disease her dr had upped her strength of Remicade from 300 mg – 400 mg back in April 2019. She started having rectal bleeding October 9th went to ER and at a follow up we found out the home infusion pharmacy had been dispensing her 300 mg this whole time. She had 4 infusions before we found out it wasn’t the right strength. She’s been on Remicade for 4 yrs now and this is the 1st time while on this medication where she’s had rectal bleeding. I have copies of the original script that has the increased dose and copies of the work order slips for each of her infusions showing the lower dose was given. Do I have a case or will this be a lost cause?
Hi Jennifer, I think you have a good case and should hire an attorney quickly.
So here’s a good one: I take a high schedule narcotic painkiller and I recently had the dosage increased. So about two weeks into this month’s prescription I noticed it wasn’t giving me the relief that I knew I was supposed to get. I look at the bottle and it has the correct dosage listed so I went to the manufacturer’s website and compared the description and the markings listed to the pills that I have. Being this is Sunday that I discovered this, tomorrow the first thing I’m going to do is to call my doctor. The second thing I wanted to do was to go to the pharmacy but that would mean I’m sure that they want the prescription back, if they were going to do anything at all,and there would go my proof. This is a mom-and-pop pharmacy that has been in business in my area for many years and I believe they know exactly what they’re doing. I believe that they gave me the wrong prescription, the lower dosage, and not the right amount on purpose, which when I was taking the lower dosage I had more medication per month. This time I got lower amount of medication and lower dosage, and I am sure that my insurance company was charged for what I was supposed to get and not what I did get I have endured undue pain and suffering due to this. The DEA is all over this medication so I would potentially have to give back what I already have (again there would go my proof) and I don’t know that they would be allowed to give me the correct medication this time due to rules and regulations. The potential legal ramifications to myself, if I got caught somehow having the wrong meds in the container, or failing a drug screen due to low residue and potentially being denied much needed medication, is quite stressful. Head scratcher, this one. Thoughts please?
Hi Zanni, I suggest you photograph your bottle, the bag, and the pills. Ask your doctor first for help. And you might want to change pharmacies. You are in a tough place, and I have heard of patients being denied medications due to “non-compliance.” I wish I could offer more help, but you really need your doctor to guide you through this problem. Good luck, and I hope you feel better. Matt
Thank you Matt,
I talked to a lawyer today and they told me, it would cost me more for the lawyer than what she would win.
Hi Matt
I take Metoprolol 50 mg Twice a day. I have been taking it for 2 weeks. Today I noticed the pills were different mixed with something else. Is there anything that I can do.
Hi Porsha, Yes, save the medication, contact your doctor and hire an attorney.
Hi There,
I noticed a different pill in my pill batch. I looked it up and it’s a medicine for adhd. Not knowing if that was the only pill in there that wasn’t right so I have a case?
Hi Janell,
It sounds like the pharmacy clearly made a mistake, but it also seems you have not damages, which is good. You should report the error to the pharmacy and let them know they need to do a better job of overseeing their employees to help prevent a more serious mistake.
Stay well. Matt Powell
I am on 35ml methadone and I went to the chemist to pick up my methadone for the sunday and was given 60ml of psyseptone with someone else’s name on the bottle.
I took it without thinking to check the bottle.
Hi Velita, I hope you are okay and did not get a bad reaction to the mis-filled prescription. I suggest you make a formal complaint to the Pharmacy, and the State regarding this mistake. This may help prevent mistakes like this from happening again in the future.
hi,
can i win if i will file a compensation against the pharmacy who dispense the wrong drug.
i suffered a high blood pressure for 9 days now , severe joint pain and fatigue all of these are sid3 effects of the medication pharmacist dispensed.
awaiting for your reply
Hi Rachel,
Yes, you will probably win that claim. Talk to your doctor and see if there is any long term effect of the miss filled prescription?
I was recently prescribed azithromycin for an infection. The instructions were supposed to be to take all 4 pills at once, but the pharmacy made an error and instructed me to take 1 pill a day for 4 days. I have spoken with my doctor about the situation. So now I am still sick, I have to go back to the doctor for more tests/another prescription and start this cycle over again. I am hoping that I will not experience any bad effects from this or from the prolonged infection that this medicine was supposed to have treated. What are my options here? Legally and generally, what should I do at this point?
Hi Rose,
Legally, you could bring an action against the pharmacy for their negligence. But from a practical standpoint the best scenario would be for your health to improve, and you not have any long lasting damages caused by the mistake. I suggest you talk to your doctor and find out what long term effects you might have as a result of the delay in your treatment.
Hi Matt,
I recently picked up my prescriptions, and when I got home I noticed that I had been given a drug that I was not familiar with. I immediately contacted my Doctor, and he told me that he had not prescibed this medication, that I should not take it, and that I should contact CVS Pharmacy for an explanation. On further inspection of the label, although my name was clearly on the container, the prescribing doctor was not associated with me. I find this mistake extrememly concerning and upsetting. I cannot believe that there are not sufficient controls in place prevent this happening. The consequences do not bear thinking about. I have complained to CVS and, although their customer service department have apologized, I am still waiting to speak to the pharmacist. What should I expect to hear from the pharmacist, and is there any further action that I should take?
Thanks for your help
Andrew Fryer
Hi Andrew,
I am sorry to hear about what has happened at CVS. It is scary that most pharmacies are too busy to be safe. I expect you won’t get much satisfaction from the pharmacist. They are probably being told not to speak to you for legal reasons. You might contact the State Licensing department where you live and file a formal complaint. This will cause an investigation, and might lead to the pharmacy having to hire more people, or take further steps to protect everyones safety.
my wife was prescribed pantoprazole sod DR 20 mg tab TO TAKE A TABLET BY MOUTH TWICE A DAY, SHE TOOK THE MEDICATION FOR 10 DAYS . SHE BECAME SEVERLY TIRED SLEEPING ALMOST 10 TO 12 HORS A DAY WAKING UP IN TIME TO TAKE HER MEDICATION. UPON CHECKING HER MEDICATION , THE TABLET WAS PINK WITH THE NUMBER 262 ON IT. THE MEDICATION PANTOPRAZOLE WAS FOR A STOMACH BACTERIA INFECTION. THE PINK PILL IS USED TO TREAT SCHIZOPHRENIA. DO SHE HAVE ANY LEGAL RECOURSE.
Yes, your wife needs to consult her doctor, and hire a lawyer quickly.
Hi Matt,
My daughter had surgery and was prescribed Percoset 10 (qty 15) CVS filled it and when we got home we noticed that it had just 11 in the bottle. CVS is stating that they did not make a mistake. I don’t know what to do. What do people do in this kind of situation?
This is a difficult situation when dealing with narcotic medications. You might be a victim of a theft by an employee working in the pharmacy. I doubt you can do much now. However, I suggest you open the bottle in front of the pharmacist and confirm you got what the doctor ordered. I am sorry about your short fill of your daughters prescription.
I’m a 56 yo woman with sarcoidosis, afib, lupus, ankylosing spondylitis, hashimoto’s and 5 more autoimmune diseases. I am on flecainide 100mg,bid, eliquis for blood clots from irregular heartbeat etc (and a host of other meds including injection chemo weekly.) ln 8/20, I received my flecainide 100 mg. During the next 3 months, I went into afib almost daily and several times for over two days each. I thought I was going to have to be cardioverted, again, in hospital. In the end of 11/20, it was time to refill flecainide. I got my new rx, and had 1 pill left over from old. I went to place it in new bottle and noticed it was a different size and thickness. The pill was marked AN 641 and when I looked it up, it was for flecainide but for 50MG, half the dose! Hence why I kept going into afib. I left bottle and pill in my drawer and meant to call pharmacy but life got in the way. Fast forward to today, when I got my next rx and I remembered. My daughter is a nurse at the hospital where the pharmacy is at. My husband also works at the hospital as Security Charge Officer. I was hesitant to let them know, but I called today to let pharmacy know of their past screw up. Should I have done anything else? My daughter, their employee, said this could be a lawsuit. Just wondering. I’m lucky that my heart didn’t stop but thankful I’m fine now.
HI Liz,
You are very fortunate that your health was not adversely affected for your life. You do have a claim. And I suggest you notify the pharmacy, and the pharmacist, and contact an attorney in your state.
Hello, I got one random Xarelto in my Tadalafil prescription.
Thought maybe it was a substitute, but the looked it up.
What recourse do I have?
Hi Sean,
I would ask the pharmacy for a refund. It sounds like you were fortunate enough not to take the wrong medication.
Without having any substantial damages caused by the pharmacy mistake, there is really not a lot you can ask for.
Meijers pharmacy put my prescriptions that I paid for in a bag and when I got home one was missing–Ambien, a controlled substance. I went back and they are saying they have to get permission to look at their cameras to make sure. I got so angry–they are adding insult to injury. That has to be employee theft. When I went back they had no bottle of Ambien and I had my receipts and no Ambien.
Hi Suzanne,
Sorry to hear about your problem. You are likely a victim of theft by the pharmacies employees. I suggest you speak to the manager, have them review the video, and require them to do a full investigation.
A patient comes into a pharmacy high peached, complaining of a wrong medication given to him. How will you solve this conflict and what choice of wording would you apply ? help please
Hi Adriel,
I would suggest you meet with the patient along with another pharmacist, and ask the patient what is wrong, look at the medication, review the script, and possibly review the close circuit surveillance video to make sure the right medication was given to the patient. If there is a mistake, make it right. Also, contact their physician and see if there is any medical advice the patient should follow to maintain their health. If the patient is wrong, just document what you did, and how you tried to help and that there is nothing you can do. That would be my suggestion how to deal with a patient who is upset about getting the wrong medication.
I’m a veteran with ADHD, PTSD, anxiety, and severe foot pain due to injuries from Gulf War. So, I receive hydrocodone, Alprazolam, Aderrall, and several heart medications from the VA Pharmacy mailouts once a month delivered to my home mailbox. I attend school full time and work full time so I’m always on the go trying to get to my next destination. I do not take the three narcotics as prescribed but more of as needed so every month a get a new bottle I just pour what’s left into the new bottle and throw away the old bottle so I don’t have 100 pill bottles in my cabinet. This day I was in a hurry and had not taken my medications so rushing out the door I just grabbed my bottles and threw them all in a small backpack and headed off to work thinking I’d just take them once I got there. Note: ( I had to do a police report a month prior due to a bottle of hydrocodone not showing up to my house so I reported them stolen so that I could get a new prescription.) Anyway, Otw home from work I get pulled over and arrested for a fight I supposidly was in 8 months prior and my vehicle was searched. I had told the officer that I had medication that needed to go with me because I had PTSD and anxiety. They went through the bag and found said that the Adderrol had I think 10 more pills in it than what the bottle said so they charged me with Man Del of controlled substance pg. That’s not the kicker. They tested the pills and found that they weren’t even Aderrall, they were Meth and caffeine. They had the same markings and everything as what I usually get and I never really checked them out because I don’t take them all the time. They dropped the original charge but changed it to possession. This is crazy to me. They have all my prescriptions and know I’m prescribed this medication but still insist I’m up to some kind of drug distribution because I do have a criminal history from over 4 years ago. I’m in college just bought a house, am about to graduate, just completed a certification, and maintain employment. I’ve tried to contact the pharmacy just to find out if they have had any other cases or issues with the medication and no one wants to talk. My attorney says that they will not admit to screwing up but the mail-order pharmacies always have problems because they use outside pharmacies and they go through a lot of hands prior to getting to me. I’m just kind of going crazy if anyone has any advice or something I should do to help my case?
Hi Sean,
You have a lot going on. Your criminal lawyer has a lot of work to prove the pills you received which are counterfeit were not your fault. I would suspect he has to take the sworn statements of everyone in the pharmacy chain, but like he suggested, no one will admit to committing a crime.
Your best hope is that some other law enforcement agency has investigated this problem, and you can use that information to help your case.