New Pharmacy Error Found at Walgreens
EmailA seven-year-old boy from Modesto, Calif., who ended up in the emergency room, is one of more than a dozen cases of serious pharmacy errors at Walgreens drugstores reported by readers and viewers in the wake of an ABC News investigation of the problem posted online and broadcast last month. Walgreens has confirmed the incident. "His legs were shaking, he was getting delirious, cold and shaking. I kept thinking why is this happening?" the boy’s mother, Diane Ramirez, wrote in a letter to The Blotter on ABCNews.com. THE BLOTTER RECOMMENDS Blotter Results of the ABC News ’20/20′ Undercover Pharmacy Investigation Photos Unreported Pharmacy Errors 20/20 Video Pharmacy Errors: Unreported Epidemic? Click Here to Check Out Brian Ross Slideshows Ramirez said she filled her son’s prescription for a drug called Tegretol-XR, which was prescribed to treat her son’s mental health problems, on March 15 at her local Walgreens. But her child’s condition worsened, and his doctor told her to increase the dosage. It was not until a friend suggested she view the recent ABC News "20/20" report on pharmacy errors on The Blotter on ABCNews.com that Ms. Ramirez thought to double-check the prescription. Click Here for Full Blotter Coverage. To her horror, instead of Tegretol-XR, Walgreens had given her Toprol XL used to treat high blood pressure in adults (pictured above). "My son had been taking the wrong pills for almost three weeks. I immediately took him to the emergency room where he was evaluated. The doctors told us that if we had not caught this in time, our son would have collapsed because the medication was making his blood pressure drop," Ms. Ramirez told ABC News. Ms. Ramirez went back to her local Walgreens, where, she says, "a red-faced pharmacist apologized over and over. He said he didn’t know who had filled the prescription and gave us a new bottle of the correct medicine. The pharmacist refunded our $20 insurance copayment and asked us to return or destroy the wrong pills." When contacted by ABC News about the Ramirez case, a spokesman for Walgreens acknowledged the error, saying the pharmacy manager at the Modesto Walgreens had filed an internal company error report about the case last Friday. In a statement to ABC News, Walgreens said the prescription had been filled by a pharmacy technician and checked by a pharmacist. "As a result of the error, procedures were reviewed with the Pharmacy staff" at the store, the company said. Walgreens appears to shift some of the blame for the error from its own pharmacy staff to the young boy’s doctor. "We found the prescription was handwritten by the doctor and unfortunately misread by our staff." "This is a case where electronic prescribing could have avoided confusion between two medication names that looked similar when handwritten," the company statement said. "I’m angry and upset, particularly at Walgreens attempts to blame our doctor. What you showed on ’20/20,’ it’s happening here in our neighborhood. We were shocked and furious to find out it had happened to us," Ms. Ramirez said. "It’s disappointing but not surprising," University of Illinois Professor Bruce Lambert, a specialist in studying medication errors, told ABC News in response to the Ramirez case. "Confusion between drugs with look-alike and sound-alike names, such as Toprol and Tegretol, is a well-known problem," Lambert said. "The FDA issued a warning to pharmacists in October 2005 of the potential for mix-ups with these two drugs." The "20/20" pharmacy investigation found there were no federal regulations, and only a few states require drugstores to report pharmacy errors. There are also no federal standards for pharmacy technicians, who can often be high school students with minimal training. "Retail pharmacies have their own internal error reporting systems, but they have fought efforts to require them to publicly disclose the information, claiming proprietary and privacy concerns," said Lambert. "Access to this data would be a valuable resource to study and prevent future errors." In the latest development, after ABC News contacted Walgreens to ask about the case, Ms. Ramirez said she received a phone call from a Walgreens representative who asked how her son was doing and offered her a "settlement," which she says she politely refused to discuss. "The doctors at the emergency room told me I should report this, but I had no idea who to tell. That’s why I wrote to ABC," Ms. Ramirez said.
RSS
Twitter
Facebook
While I do not blame the doctor in this case, I do agree with the pharmacist that protocol can be revamped to reduce human error. I have often taken hand-written prescriptions to my pharmacist and seen a frustrated reaction as the person attempts to decipher my doctor’s handwriting. The pharmacist often asks me to verify the prescription because the penmanship is so poor. Since the hand-written prescription is on letterhead with a phone number, others at the pharmacy sometimes call the doctor to clarify the prescription and voice displeasure with his illegible “chicken scratch.”
Posted by: Ellen | April 18, 2007, 1:23 pm 1:23 pm
The doctor may have written a little illegibly, but the pharmacist should have know that the medicine was improper for a 7 year old to take. They input your personal information into their system and should have know the prescription was for a 7 year old child. My doctor accidentally printed a prescription for an antibiotic in the form of very large pills one time for my 7 year old son. I unknowingly made my son take this medicine one time and then decided to call – and yes, it was a wrong prescription also. It was not Walgreens, but to me, if they as for a D.O.B. to confirm who the prescription is for, a pharmacist should be able to tell when a prescription just doesnt seem right for that age.
Posted by: Concerned in Texas | April 18, 2007, 5:45 pm 5:45 pm
This happens too much and unfortunately the pharmacy do not take responsibility for the mistakes. I understand we are all human, but when a life is in the care of someone else’s hands, then it needs to be double and triple checked. I have had similar problems at a neighborhood Rite-Aid and it scared me that if I had not checked into the medicine online I would have been very sick. Our health care seems to be getting more and more expensive and the care is getting worse. Why is this?
Posted by: Linda | April 18, 2007, 10:06 pm 10:06 pm
Walgreens has got to be kidding. The pharmacist DIDN’T ask WHY blood pressure medication was being prescribed for a 7 YEAR OLD BOY? COME ON!!! They didn’t check! Period.
Posted by: Greg | April 19, 2007, 11:16 am 11:16 am
In no defense to the pharmacist. Although not as common to the “normal” individual, toprol as well as toprol XL, a beta-blocker, as well as other blood pressure medications are given to children as young as 5 up to the age of 12. Sometimes these drugs have an effect on certain mental conditions like ADD and ADHD. The pharmacist could have easily taken a quick look at the profile and seen tegretol and some other “mental condition” medications and not given it another thought. it’s not as uncommon as made out to be. It was a mistake, it happens
Posted by: Michael | April 19, 2007, 4:39 pm 4:39 pm
Once the pharmacist receives the perscription it is their responsibility to make sure it is the right dose and medicine for the patient. If it is not their responsibility then who is responsible for filling the right prescription? I think pharmacists have enough parmacy techs to call and ask doctors about medicines. The pharmacists try to diagnose patients and to justify questionable medications when instead they should check with the person who is prescribing the medication. It doesn’t matter wether the prescription is hand written or not pharmacists can check on prescriptions. Also, patients should reasearch what they are putting into their bodies.
Posted by: barb | April 19, 2007, 6:57 pm 6:57 pm
As a pharmacist I can tell you everyday I fear making an error and I personally refuse to work for a high volume chain for just that reason. I recommend to my friends all the time supermarkets/Target/walmart or any pharmacy that doesn’t have a line of waiters going out the door. Simple math: an RPH filling 400 scripts in 12 hrs has less than 2 minutes a script, while I do 80-100 for an independant and feel fortunate that I have time to counsel any patient that is open to it. Face to face with the patient or parent is the fourth check and I am please to do it.
Posted by: jordan | April 19, 2007, 8:00 pm 8:00 pm
The first rule I give my technicians (all but 2 are nationally certified-an ABC news factual error) is that if you are not sure–call the MD. The 2nd rule is that we are not a McDonalds (more on that some other time). Still, even a drug that looks right can be still be wrong. MD’s make prescribing errors and write illegibly and frequently use drugs outside normal evidence based prescribing practice. While many are quite nice when you call for clarification or to question a drug or its dosing, many MD’s and their staff are very rude; a “how dare you question me” attitude. Coupled with the general public’s near ignorance about chemistry and medicine except they need only show up and get pills, this is a three fold recipe for disaster. There is a reason we ask if there are any questions before we sell a medication. Were it up to me every first time drug for a patient would require counseling, whether it was wanted it or not. But all too often, the patient says “no” because they are in a hurry (what do you mean I have to wait 25 minutes?!) and mis-reads like Tegretol-Toprol-Topomax or trazodone-tramamdol occur. The responsibility lies with all three: physician, pharmacist AND the patent. It took you 3 weeks to figure it out the misread, Diane? Are you illiterate? Did you not READ the bottle Diane? NO! You didn’t. You assumed…for 21 days. And as I tell my staff, if you don’t check and re-check and you don’t verify when you are uncertain, you’ve only yourself to blame. P.S. Hard to read Rx’s is not an isolated problem. Read Pharmacy Times magazine and check out the illegible Rx’s sent in from across the nation. Most you’d never get without looking at the answers.
Posted by: Dr. Phil Hopkins, Jr, RPh | April 19, 2007, 11:03 pm 11:03 pm
AS A SR CPHT FOR WALGREENS ( SENIOR CERTIFIED PHARMACY TECHNICIAN) I UNDERSTAND THE IMPORTANCE OF SAFETY IN THE PHARMACY SETTING. HOWEVER, I DO NOT THINK MOST PEOPLE WANT TO PLACE AT LEAST SOME OF THE BLAME WHERE IT BEGINS. WITH THE DOCTOR.
I SEE PRESCRIPTIONS DAILY THAT ARE IMPOSSIBLE TO READ. THEY ARE SO EDUCATED…WHY DO THEY NOT SEE THE IMPORTANCE OF WRITING SOMETHING AS IMPORTANT AS A MEDICATION AND DOSAGE FOR THEIR PATIEN CLEARLY? THEY LEAVE IT TO PHARMACIES TO DECODE THIR CHICKEN SCRATCHING, AND MAKE THE CORRECT DECISIONS. SIMPLE…WRITE CLEARLY.
ALSO, DO PEOPLE REALIZE HOW OFTEN IT IS A DOCTOR THAT WE HAVE TO CALL TO CONFIRM, CHANGE OR INFORM THEM THAT THE MEDICATION THEY PRESCRIBE IS WRONG? OBSOLETE? DOESNT COME IN THE STRENGTH THEY PRESCRIBE? PATIENT CANNOT TAKE FOR ONE REASON OR OTHER? DOSAGE IS INCORRECT?
I AM NOT SAYING THAT ANY MISTAKE BY ANYONE IS OK… IT IS DEFINATELY NOT, BUT LETS TAKE A LOOK AT THE WHOLE PICTURE. THINK OF JUST HOW MANY PRESCRIPTIONS ARE FILLED PER DAY, BALANCE THAT WITH THE ERRORS.
WALGREENS IS NOT ANY MORE PERFECT THAN ANYONE ELSE, BUT BE FAIR…WHY DOESNT ANYONE MENTION HOW MUCH MONEY THIS COMPANY HAS SPENT IN SAFETY? OR THE FACT THAT WE DO KEEP TRACK OF ERRORS, REPORT THEM, AND INVESTIGATE?THAT STAFF IS MORE HIGHLY TRAINED THAN THE OTHER COMPANIES?
IM SORRY IF I SEEM DEFENSIVE. BUT I HAVE BEEN IN THIS JOB FOR QUITE SOME TIME, AND I CAN TRUKY SAY I WOULD NOT WANT TO WORK FOR OR HAVE MY PRESCRIPTIONS FILLED ANYWHERE ELSE..WHETHER I WORK FOR WALGREENS OR NOT. I AM THERE…I SEE THE STEPS TAKEN DAILY TO TRY TO PREVENT ANY ERRORS, AND I SEE A COMPANY THAT TRULY DOES PUT PATIENTS AND THEIR SAFETY FIRST.
PERFECT? NO…. BUT CONSATANTLY TRYING TO IMPROVE. LETS BE FAIR AND TRULY LOOK AT THE COMPANY. NOT JUST LUMP THEM IN WITH ALL THE OTHERS. I GUARANTEE YOU WILL SEE THE DIFFERENCE.
Posted by: BJ | April 19, 2007, 11:50 pm 11:50 pm
Everyone is missing the most important protection against these type of errors. Take the responsibility to know what the medicine is suppose to be and read the label. Then if you have a question ask and if needed ask again.
Posted by: mm | April 20, 2007, 10:30 am 10:30 am
I have just read all the responses and every statement made about checking prescriptions is everyone’s responsibility. However, I have to agree with Dr. Hopkins the real responsibility should be the person who picks up or administers these medications. Let’s face it we are all human and we will make mistakes. Even if these prescriptions were transmitted electronically there is still room for error.
Posted by: Carol | April 20, 2007, 12:35 pm 12:35 pm
I just wish that the mother of the Virginia killer had given him the wrong RX when he was a child and that he would have died then 32 other people would be alive today to debate this issue.
Posted by: Chris | April 20, 2007, 6:31 pm 6:31 pm
I have worked as a Sr. Certified pharmacy tech for 10 years and am now in pharmacy school. I agree with everyone taking a little more responsibility for themselves. Doctors are notorious for writting like crap and even with all the errors that can happen, do you think they try any harder to make it legible? Nope. Then try telling a person who wants their pills handed strait to them, right that second, that their Dr. wrote something with no strength or you cant read it. Its “gimme your manager”. People have become spoiled and expect everything now or else they throw temper tantrums like two year olds, then these big corprate chains reward them for their inconvience. What are we teaching? People need to take a second and realize that filling rx’s take time especially when you want them correct! In the store I work at we did up to 1100 scripts daily. So dont rush it, slow down, take a breath and come back later for your script, it will be there when you get back. I promise!
Posted by: amanda | April 20, 2007, 9:55 pm 9:55 pm
I bet the mistakes compared to the rxs filled ratio is super low. Can horribley bad things happen. YES! but blowing it out of proportion dosent help. Educate the consumer on how to double check the meds themselves as well. This can help. How can a pharmacist help you if you cant even help yourself? Educate educate educate. Cant stress it enough. Mass belittling cant do any good if you ask me.
Posted by: Angel | April 20, 2007, 10:09 pm 10:09 pm
I tried to get a persciption filled by walgreens. I tried to explain to them that my Aunt had tricare as well comunitycare. and she had told me that their would be no charge or mabe $3 or $9 charge they told me it was $47.00. My Aunt is 85yrs. and she has been taking this medicine a long time and she never has to pay. They were very condisending to me and basicly told me that the way it is. I ask for my money back and they did in a real huff. I went to cvs and it was $38.00 I said no. I went to walmart and finally someone ckecked and ask some ?s and I got her perscriptions for $0 . It makes me wonder with all this technical stuff and if some one does not ck all the facts how many people are getting ripped off because some so called expert told them. I feel bad for the elderly that have no one looking out for them. I wonder who is going to be their for me when I get old?
Posted by: Toni Creighton | April 21, 2007, 12:33 am 12:33 am
I am so glad that the posters here finally mentioned the consumer’s responsibility. Now we’ve covered all of the bases. Remember people what kind of world we live in and it is we, the consumer, who is to blame 100%. We demand instant service in this “I want it now” society. Like the good doctor mentioned, “this is not McDonalds”. If all of us would slow down a bit we might realize how much time, effort, heartache and money we would save. How do we take ourselves back to a time when we cared about our “product” and our fellow neighbor? Indeed, everyone was at fault and we have all answered the questions as to “why” it happened, this was the easy part. The hard part is following through with the answers and everyone taking better care and more time at the time of “service” yes, and “we” the consumer needs to “let” this take place. So, be patient and you will be rewarded with the best service you’ve ever had without the stress and agony of hurrying our providers and then spouting off at them when mistakes happen. Pass this on so we can be a better society.
A, Christian, wife, and a mother of 4.
Posted by: Susan | April 21, 2007, 9:43 am 9:43 am
I have worked for Walgreens now for three years. It is a great company! I believe that any missfills are tragic and should not happen, but come on now, that isn’t possible. No matter what education level someone has, they are still people, and people make mistakes. If you are going to take a medication, take responsibility for yourself. Know what you are taking and what it does to and for your body. Do not always place your life in other peoples hands because they are just that, people. Looking at perscriptions all day long, it happens. Doctors write horribly and even after they passed the “write legibly” law MDs still do not write legibly. Not to mention CVS, WalMart, Target, Mom and Pops, Eckerd, and all other pharmacy chains also have missfills. Lets be realistic here, they only pick on Walgreens because they are the dominant chain right now. We have to pull companies down when they are up. I am sorry to anyone that was ever hurt because of someone elses error, but you cannot just blame one person in this case. It is your fault, the pharmacies fault, and more than likly your doctors fault. AND INSURANCE HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THE PHARMACY. We act as a 3rd party as a convienience for you, the customer. So for all of you out there that are posting comments about insurance, your barking up the wrong tree.
Posted by: Christina Baptist | April 21, 2007, 1:27 pm 1:27 pm
My comments are not intended to support or criticize the pharmacist involved with the issue. But this problem brings up a bigger issue which can help minimize such errors in the future.
ABC news does a great job of making the public aware of problems in the community, and opening the eyes of corporations, or individuals involved with problematic issues. It would be beneficial for all, if ABC news and/or 20/20 can also do a report on television and online how illegible most prescriptions are, and how difficult it is for pharmacist to read the script. Healthcare professionals need to work as a team. If your co-worker submitted a handwritten report that looked like “vvv vvyvvy vtvvv…” would you be able to understand that they wrote “The finical situation of the company is…” No you would not. Doctors, nurse practitioners and other prescribers write for things that can be deadly if used incorrectly. Pharmacist get up to 50 prescriptions to fill in an hour, if they spend most of their time on the phone or trying to decipher a script how much time do you think it will take them to fill one prescription if they still have to check for drug interaction, the appropriate dose, and other things? Majority of patients want their prescriptions in 10 minutes, one minute their at the drop-off window, then two minutes later they are asking for their medication at the pick-up window. Pharmacists are HUMAN beings, and no machine would be able to decipher that sloppy hand writing as well. It takes 30 extra seconds to write legibly, but between 5 minutes to 3 hours to contact a busy doctor to ask what he/she wrote for. States such as Washington passed a no cursive rule, but doctors do not always follow it.
THE MAIN POINT IS: IF THE NEWS MEDIA CAN BRING ATTENTION TO THIS ISSUE OF ILLIGBLE PRESCRIPTONS, THEY WILL BE ENHANCING HEALTHCARE SERVICE.
Posted by: JJ | April 21, 2007, 1:54 pm 1:54 pm
it is certainly the responsibility of everyone in the chain to be responsible, including the consumer. i pay attention to what my doctor tells me and what he writes down. if it’s not clear, i ask. walgreens, as well as all other pharmacies, usually give you a printed description and directions and describe what the drug is used for. pay attention! it’s life and death for you and your family!
Posted by: steve | April 21, 2007, 2:16 pm 2:16 pm
and the hother should of read the label before she left the drugstore. I always read them before i leave.
Posted by: STEVEN EPSTEIN | April 21, 2007, 7:02 pm 7:02 pm
Bravo steve! As a mom to two kids, I would never give something to my kids without reading what it is, even if it is something recommended by my Dr. Look what happen to all those pregnant women who were given Thalomid for nausea and their babies were born with horrible birth defects. These are chemicals we are putting into our bodies not candy, take more care!
Posted by: amanda, mother of two | April 21, 2007, 10:29 pm 10:29 pm
As for the insuance price issue, it sounds like you need to call and ask your insurance company whats the deal due to the fact that with Walgreens we submit what you are getting to them and they quote the price NOT Walgreens. We bill the insurance company for convience but do not argue with them over your price thats your job. Also, were the insurance cards presented or just the fact that your aunt had two insurance companies? An insuance card is just as important as having to show a credit card. You wouldnt walk into a grocery store and just say I have visa, bill it. There are important numbers on that card that can definately make a change in the price. Sure we would like to call every insurance for every elderly person who comes in the store, but try living in Florida where 3/4 of your clientell are seniors and shouldn’t be walking around on their own let alone driving to the pharmacy and handling their own finances. It’s sad, but there’s definately a bigger issue here over and above bad customer service.
Posted by: amanda | April 21, 2007, 10:42 pm 10:42 pm
In response to the lady who was picking up prescriptions for an elderly relative with two insurance companies that included Tricare, I can respond.
Many pharmacies are not equipped to accept more than one insurance per prescription. Unlike doctor’s offices that send all the insurance information to a billing office, pharmacies generally input the information on the spot. It is far too time consuming to have to figure out which is the primary insurance, which is secondary and what the final amount due will be. Remember, they still have to decipher sloppily scribbled scripts, check for drug interactions and verify accuracy while working with a continuous influx of new scripts that need to be filled.
If your aunt has Tricare, along with another insurance carrier, the Tricare is considered secondary insurance. All she needs to do is submit a claim to Tricare and they will send her a refund check for the amount she paid after the primary insurance paid their portion. The checks are sent quickly.
Posted by: Laura | April 22, 2007, 9:30 am 9:30 am
As a parent of a mentally ill child I understand the frustration the parents are feeling. However, I always check the bottle and the pills in the bottle before I leave the pharmacy. I believe that it is all three parties that are ultimatly responicable for this mistake.
Posted by: landra | April 23, 2007, 4:28 pm 4:28 pm
Yup, walgreen submits an internal report/investigation then hides it.
Yup, the pharmacist and his (or her) assistant don’t pay enough attention to prescription or customer.
Yup, the doctors’ writing is illegible.
Yup, mom and dad don’t look at the label.
Yup, everybody’s offended at being questioned.
Yup, nobody accepts responsibility for their part.
I have perhaps over-simplified this seemingly complex issue, but through the haze of everyone blowing smoke to avoid being looked at…the word responsibility will not be ignored. No one is responsible anymore, its’ always the other guys’ fault.
I’ve seen 5 year old children accept responsibility, learn and move on.
Posted by: Gary | April 24, 2007, 11:30 am 11:30 am
As consumers of health professionals, we should insist on either a typed prescription or a legibly written one from our physicians. If a pharmacist or technician then makes a mistake, he cannot use the excuse that the handwriting was confusing.
Posted by: Pat | April 24, 2007, 3:18 pm 3:18 pm
I have used Walgreen’s Pharmacy for many years. Whenever I pick up a prescription I verify that the prescription is correct ie drug and dosage. Each prescription comes with a complete description and the known side effects. I always file the most recent information. Obviously the mother didn’t read the information that came with the prescription for her son.
Recently, I had a new prescription filled for my grandson. After 3 days on the medication, not only was there no improvement, his condition worsened. I immediately took him off the medication and called the doctor. It wasn’t that the prescription was incorrect, it was that his system couldn’t tolerate the medication.
Know what the prescription is supposed to be. Don’t leave the doctor’s office without knowing this. Then check when you pick-up the prescription at the pharmacy to verify that the prescription is correct. With any new medication be aware that different drugs can have different results with different people. Be a responsible patient and consumer.
Posted by: kb3245 | April 24, 2007, 10:53 pm 10:53 pm
I have worked as a licensed pharmacy technician also. The store I worked in was a chain drug store in a small town. The pharmacists were very diligent about the accuracy of the prescriptions. They would call the doctor and verify the prescription if needed, or take any measure to make sure the medicine was filled correctly. Unfortunately, this takes time. What do you think they got it return for their efforts? I’ll tell you. Customers standing in line glaring at us because they were having to wait 15 minutes or more for their medicine. People stomping off in dusgust because they had to wait for us to call the doctor about a script missing information. Somehow this was our fault. We lost customers to other pharmacies because we tried to do things right and take the time to counsel people. The more you help one customer, the more time it takes away from the next one. Pretty soon you have people who are very angry because their medicine isn’t ready instantly. I actually saw one customer reach across the counter and grab the pharmacists arm because he was tired of waiting on his script to be filled. No, there is no excuse for error. But customers in general put tremendous pressure on everyone working in the pharmacy to be faster and faster because they don’t want to wait. I am proud of the reaction of the pharmacists I worked for. They would not comprimise on accuracy even when they were losing customers because you could go across the street and get your prescription filled 5 minutes quicker. They don’t realize what they were giving up. People filling their medicine who cared very much about their customer’s health and well-being. In return, they were cursed at, yelled at, glared at, and told they were slow and fine, I’ll just take my scripts somewhere else. I know my comment is one-sided and realize this is not the whole problem. But, customers themselves could go a long way toward solving this problem if they would just allow more time for the scripts to be filled without getting angry.
Posted by: Deborah A Barr | April 25, 2007, 9:16 am 9:16 am
parents….here’s a novel idea. While at the doctor’s office with the child, ask about the medication being prescribed.
When you get to the pharmacy, make sure sure to check the bottle for the right med. i’ve been doing this for years and just consider it good parenting. Humans make mistakes! Take ownership for your child’s protection.
Posted by: john | April 25, 2007, 11:53 am 11:53 am
I agree 100% with “Concerned in Texas.” He/She basically said everything I was thinking. If they had a hard time reading the prescription that the doctor wrote, they should have CHECKED IT. It’s absolutely ridiculous.
Posted by: Nina Nealon | April 25, 2007, 12:57 pm 12:57 pm
What is disgusting to me is how all of you people out there think it is ok for someone to neglect resposibility. Give me a break. Yes the pharmacist made a mistake, but the Doctor should write clearer and the patients should know what they are putting into their childrens body. How many people feed their children fast food for breakfast, lunch, and dinner? How many people bath their infants with adult shampoo or soap? How many people let their 5 year old smoke? Oh most don’t. Could that be because we all know what affects this would have on our children. Everyone is at fault here. Quite pointing fingers and lets fix the problem on all ends. Doctors write legibly. Pharmacists get your heads out of your butt. And parents, learn about the meds your children take.
Posted by: Christina | April 25, 2007, 4:04 pm 4:04 pm
Just reading the comments from some of the pharmacy techs that have written in, I don’t think I would want you to fill my prescription. You can’t even spell your words right, so how can you possibly fill a script right? Maybe before I have any prescription filled at any pharmacy I should have them spell for me. I can see why the wrong medication is given, if you can’t spell and punctuate properly, you surely wouldn’t know what medicine to put into a bottle!
Posted by: Anonymous | April 25, 2007, 6:50 pm 6:50 pm
After reading each coment posted, I realized that not one posting had mentioned that the Pharmacist had counseled or offered counseling to the patient. In the state that I practice in, it is required BY LAW that the pharmacist COUNSEL on every first-time prescription and OFFER counseling on refills. Mistakes like the Tegretol- Toprol could have have been caught when the pharmacist ask the patient “What did the phycisian tell you this medication was for?” or “What is the phycisian treating?”. These are example questions that the pharmacist should ask during counseling.
Pharmacist graduate now days with doctorate degrees (PharmD) and are highly educated concerning drugs. They are the people that you should be asking questions and talking to about your drugs.
The one best thing you can do when filling a presciption is to “talk to your pharmacist”. If they do not offer counseling, than you should demand it.
Posted by: Dr. Rapp, PharmD | April 25, 2007, 11:01 pm 11:01 pm
I have seen the report by 20/20 concerning prescription errors. I feel any error which occurs in a pharmacy is tragic and it definately has the potential to hurt someone. It is every pharmacists worst nightmare to even make an error.
As a Walgreens pharmacist, I viewed the tv presentation with a sense of misrepresentation. I have worked for Walgreens for over 15 years. In this time period there have never been any quotas as to how many prescriptions I must fill. In working at a retail pharmacy it is totally unpredictable how many Rxs will be done per day.
In my tenure with Walgreens I have also seen how the company has evolved. I have seen the technology the company has invested in for the prevention of errors. I have seen the programs intended to educate the staff and improve service. I have also seen how customer service still remains its number one priority.
This tv presentation supposedly went undercover recording several pharmacies, however, only portrayed one as the villain. Based on the pharmacy layouts it is clear to me which pharmacies were which. To an unfamiliar viewer the tv program made it seem that those undercover videos were all at Walgreens. One misrepresentation of these videos is when customers are asked to sign at the counter when receiving their prescription. I have never seen that happen at a Walgreens.
First, I would like to say that all pharmacies, regardless of company, are all human based. This statement means that there is potential for error at any pharmacy. Secondly, There is a national test which must be passed in order for technicians to be certified to work in a pharmacy. Thirdly, there are age restrictions for technicians which are set by state pharmacy boards.
The tv program also stated that errors are not tracked by pharmacies. Walgreens does track errors and takes any error that occurs very serious.
Working in a pharmacy is a very stressful profession. As a society we expect things to get done fast. We expect fast service almost everywhere we go. Our society does not want to wait in lines. We are all inpatient. We measure a good pharmacy based on the speed it takes for the prescription to get ready. We get angry when the Pharmacist says we cannot fill the RX until we contact the Dr for whatever reason.
In response to the insurence issue raised ealier. Pharmacist should focus on filling Rxs as accurately as possible. Perhaps the pharmacy staff could help with minor method of payment issues, but, ultimately the patient should be prepared to deal with their own money or insurence issues. Just as when we go shopping for other things.
I feel this tv program had many misrepresentations and unfairly depicted Walgreens. Even though I feel this way, there could be positive outcomes to this program.
I am sure Pharmacist in general will take this show serious and work to prevent any errors. I am also sure some patients will learn to appreciate pharmacy as a profession instead of a fast food type of service.
Posted by: Mtz Rph tx | April 26, 2007, 2:31 am 2:31 am
To all
I’m a native of Houston Tx who is also a diabetic. I must add I was a healthy attentive diabetic, until I was given the wrong medicine. I am in the same situation as Diane Ramirez’s son. Walgreens gave me Ablify instead of, Actos!!! I had taken it for 28 days!! and discovered the exact symptoms along with others disturbing symptoms. I also lost time at work and my sexual desire. My wife became depressed because we DID not know what was wrong until 28 days, later. I’ve gone to emergency thinking I was going to die along with losing my ability to communicate. I lost weight, I could not sleep, I could not eat, I could not talk, I could not walk, I could not comprehend, I could not work I could function along with all the other side effects Ablify offered, trust me I encountered every symptom. Luckily my wife asked to look at the medicine container and noticed TWO prescriptions labels typed on ONE MEDICINE BOTTLE. The pharmacist NEVER EVER noticed the error until the night my wife called and brought it to their attention. I too have filed a claim against Walgreens. Actually I’m still not feeling like my body should. For the record Walgreens may call this negligence but they should call this to their attention and hope this does not consistently happen as it is at the present. Who’s to say this could not affect me in the future!!
PS wishing your son well Ms Ramirez
Mr. Eugene Fuqua
Posted by: Eugene Fuqua | April 27, 2007, 8:28 am 8:28 am
I am a Sr. CPht who works for Walgreen’s. I think that any error that happens is a worst nightmare for anyone who works in this field, whether minor or major. However, I must agree with many of the previous comments about patients and cutomers who treat pharmacies as if they were fast food restaurants. Do you really want your medications done in the same time it takes to get a Happy Meal? That is not enough time to read your prescription, scan it into our system, enter the prescription (which often means deciphering the doctor’s handwriting), have a Pharmacist review it, fill the prescription, and have the Pharmacist verify that it is correct. All of these steps take place regardless of whether it a box of birth control pills or a chemotherapy medication, and all of these steps take place while other orders are worked on. For every parent out there who gets impatient because the pharmacy is taking its time to fill your child’s prescription, I say that you should be glad that they care enough to make sure that it is right. And because we are all human, please check your medication and ask any questions that you may have. Walgreen’s uses cutting-edge technology to ensure that everything is accurate, but ultimately we are all human.
Posted by: Lisa | May 5, 2007, 11:55 pm 11:55 pm
The real cause for all the errors made is speed.Companies demand you not keep the patient waiting.Answer that phone within 3 rings.If you can not fill 200-250 scripts a shift you are too slow.Yon need to be repleaced by a younger faster pharmacist.Endless articles pointing to ways to stop error.BUT NO ONE EVER SAYS SLOW DOWN!Airline pilots fly only so many hours and over the road truck drivers can only drive so many miles per.But pharamacists, good parmacists,the more they fill the better.If only one could fill 350 to 400 per shift with on lunch break,no tech support,no cashier, and oh yes ,I almost forgot.Let’s throw in a drive-up window to rive up the stress.Let’s teach each and ever patient to challenge every co-pay,to produce at least 6 expired HMO cards,to protest a waiting period over 5 minutes,to fail to provide all necessary information (well ,I’m in the compter}and lets have the patient go to the wrong pharmacy and demand a refill. Am I glad to be retired?
Posted by: mike lesser | May 6, 2007, 12:34 am 12:34 am
s
Posted by: Lisa | May 6, 2007, 1:07 am 1:07 am
im so sick and tired of you guys pharmacys make mistakes i didnt even hear about the two cvs eckerd pharmicists who wouldn’t give a woman who was raped plan b because they thought it was wrong you guys blantly went after walgreens
Posted by: geoffrey | May 11, 2007, 12:47 am 12:47 am
@post by Lisa -
how old was the girl who was raped? If she’s over 18, she could show photo ID and get it. If not, I’d recommend her getting her parent or friend to purchase it for her.
Thoughts:
are you sure they thought the plan B was “wrong”? As far as im concerned, a Rph’s feelings about medications should only be made if the medication is wrong for the patient. Their own morals/ethics is not meant in a ‘public pharmacy.’ In a private one, yeah sure they can do whatever they want but not in an Eckerd.
Most patients are stupid and don’t care what it says on the Rx, they just want their meds ASAP for cheap. I say, “if you want fast food, McD’s is across the street. If you want your medication filled incorrectly but fast, you can take your Rx elsewhere.”
half the Rph’s i work with care about the patients’ correct medication and the other half care about getting the medications out FAST! I say, “if you cant read it, call.” However, to the Rph’s who dont work accurately, “get a new job.”
Posted by: S-word. | September 16, 2007, 4:14 am 4:14 am
I think it is far too easy to play the “pass the blame” game. Yes, Doctors need to write more legibly. Sure the Pharmacists should phone the Doctor’s office for every questionable script. Sure we, can even blame the Techs for not being educated enough to scrutinize the profile. But lets face it. We, as the consumer, need to take a more pro-active role in our own health. As a mother, I would be certain what the Doctor has prescribed, and I would check the label of my/my child’s medication before I administered it. If this child had Tegretol before, why was it NOT noticed for 3 whole weeks that the label (and thus the medication inside) was not the same as the last time. Does this person not need to take a wee bit of responsibility in this chain or errors as well??? We all have the right to demand counselling from our Pharmacists to use this time to ask specific questions about what we are are receiving. Just a thought.
Posted by: A Diligent Mother | September 23, 2007, 12:43 am 12:43 am
i am really up set with a drugstore
that i go to.I rather go to another area where it looks like the pharmacy
train and make hardly no mistake on prescribtion drugs.I was giving a prescribtion for high clolestrol and pill say should be a peach color and lable was right but the medication in the bottle was very wrong and white as snow.the next day i went to pick up right pills the pharmacist said nothing about doing a incindent report.i told i want to do a incindent report and she said i did it already and i said i would like a copy she went to the PC starring and then it won”t let her do it/I really think she did not do it at all..so i can i check on line or whom i call to if it was reported.I was givin toprolXL 50mg.instead of high cloresterol pills and the gerneric name was no where near the same spelling and in color.
Posted by: linda summerville | October 24, 2007, 7:00 am 7:00 am
I picked up a perscription for my three year old last night at Walgreens. The bottle was not diluted properly and instead of once daily like the doctor had written on the perscription she instructed four times daily. I called the doctor and caught the mistake. IF I had not the consequences could have been fatal.
Posted by: lesa | December 4, 2007, 9:54 am 9:54 am
It’s late but i am up with the flu thanks to the many walgreens pharmacy patients who come and cough on staff all day long. I would like to say that i am amazed at how many people don’t know what medication they are taking. I’m so glad they have profiles with their medication history otherwise with the horribly written scripts and irresponsible patients we would be in the dark. Seriously how could you be on a medication for months and not know the name or what its for. You come and ask for a refill and we have to play a guessing game with you to figure out what you’re taking. You even have the nerve to get an “how am i supposed to know attitude when asked what meds you take. Come on. Get real. Before you put the blame on someone else look in the mirror. I’m sorry about the little boy but Mom you were not on your job. You are the last line of defense. Be aware because mistakes are going to happen but if we all do our part we can lesson these mistakes.
Posted by: tech. | February 8, 2008, 2:00 am 2:00 am
Sky’s blue, water’s wet, accidents happen and someone will be responsible. I say God helps thoses who help themselves; in other words most consumers are stupid, illiterate, and lacking a high school education. I’m not saying go to pharmacy school to know your meds, but at least know the names of them for crying out loud. I see it day in day out, people don’t even know the name(s) of the medication(s) when they request the refills at the pharmacy window. Course of action for everyone: watch your back, pay attention.
Posted by: Owen | February 19, 2008, 12:10 pm 12:10 pm
As a pharmacist, I would like to thank all that understand the challenge going on with retail pharmacy. I’d like to offer some suggestions to make best use of your local pharmacy.
1. Your pharmacist is the best resource of drug and also health care information. Make use of them. Come to your pharmacy for questions about drug, not “is this cookie buy 1 get 1 free?”
2. Do not come to your pharmacy and harass the staff about your copay (“Why $20 and not $5???). Your copay is determined solely by your insurance company and your plan. Your pharmacy staff cannot modify it. You wouldn’t ask your Safeway cashier to lower your credit card APR, would you? Copay = APR = determined by your insurance/credit card company, not the store/pharmacy you go to.
3. TRUST us! If we tell you something, it’s true even if you don’t like to hear it. If your med has no refill then it doesnt. We dont lie to you. Why would a pharmacy refuse a business? If we tell you that we need to call your physician to clarify something, it’s necessary or you’ll badly harmed or die. We delay your prescription for your safety, not bc we try to “mess with your head”.
4. Have I mentioned that the pharmacy is not a check out counter? Do NOT bring one month supply of grocery to us and ask which one is on sale?
5. Turn off the damn cell phone. Don’t come to us while yapping about last night party on the phone.
6. When you try to pick up your med and we ask you to spell your name, please do no matter how common your name is. Don’t try to pronounce it slowly and expect us to get it. If we dont know how to spell your name the 1st time, we prob dont the 20th time you say it. You’re just creating chances for error.
7. The pharmacist is a drug/health care expert, not your insurance agent. Dont come to me and question me why your insurance is like this, like that. I understand extremely well how each med works but I barely know what a deductible is. Call your insurance to find out. When you get in a car accident, who are you going to question about your policy payment. The cop who showed up at the accident site?
When you dont know what your copay is, dont yell at me. Next time, before signing up for a health insurance plan, read it first.
Posted by: QNT | February 21, 2008, 1:45 pm 1:45 pm
As a pharmacist for 14 years and counting, I must say that I am saddened by this issue. It is troubling that pharmacies have become the new “McD’s Drive-thru” for meds. Legibility is, in my opinion, the number one cause for errors. Period. However, as one of my pharmacy colleagues stated previously…it is my/our job to question it. If we cannot read it, we call. If we can’t get through to the MD, then we (I) don’t fill it. Period. Is there a delay in care? Yes. What is the cause? Think about it. However, beyond legibility, there is a knowledge factor that is required as well. There have been numerous times during my career when a prescription was easy to read…but wrong. Inappropriate dose, drug, directions, etc or a patient had a type I allergy to the very drug that was prescribed (which, by the way, can be fatal), etc. Pharmacy has moved beyond putting pills in a bottle, slapping a label on it, and ringing the customer out. There are numerous drugs entering the market monthly…and with more drugs comes more potential allergies, drug interactions, side effects, etc. Counseling is key to error prevention or “catching” an error before it leaves the pharmacy. It is the pharmacist’s last chance to catch a mistake…and a patient’s opportunity to confirm that what he or she is taking home is correct. Insurance issues should be directed to the insurance company that the policy was purchased from…THEY set your copay/deductible/etc…the pharmacy does not. With that said, we all (regardless of company affiliation) try our very best to make sure that we fill the right med, strength, directions, and quantity for the right person. We do our best to run insurance claims through for our customers, as a convenience. And, we offer counseling about prescription as well as non-prescription medications, health conditions, etc. I am proud to be a part of this profession and hope that the general public will take notice of the great service that pharmacists and their staff offer. We make a positive difference in the lives of people everyday…and for that I am grateful.
Posted by: Julie W. | June 23, 2008, 10:44 pm 10:44 pm
I’m a CphT at Walgreens. We are supposed to fill every prescription in 10 minutes, as per company goals, if we take too long we get in trouble. With only one tech and one pharmacist most shifts it is almost impossible. There is a front counter, a drive through, two phone lines, a fax machine, and automated refills online and over the phone. And TWO people have to manage all of that while entering patient information, prescription information, and insurance information, and calling out to doctors offices and waiting on hold to figure out what on earth the doctor was “trying” to write. Also calling doctors and insurance companies to see if a generic can be substituted to save customers a few dollars.
Maybe if techs were given a proper amount of time to do their jobs and people weren’t in such a hurry things like this wouldn’t happen. Pharmacy staff have to work incredibly hard just to get it to happen as infrequently as it does, but this is a very high pressure rushed job, and maybe the kid wouldn’t have taken the wrong meds for 3 WEEKS if the parent had read the package inserts or hell even the label.
Posted by: Anna | July 6, 2008, 7:39 pm 7:39 pm
i work in a hospital and i am a cpht, it is not just retail where mistakes are made. it is a pharmacist duty to make sure anything going to a patient regardless of hospital or store, is correct, that is nys rule. nothing leaves unless its checked by a pharmacist. nys does not have rules that pharmacy techs have to be certified , certain chain stores do, for their own protection but i worked for three years in retail pharmacy and i never was certified until i decided i wanted to be. alot of the “techs” are not. i was a deli manager for five years when i was hired at a chain store to work in a pharmacy, i told them i know nothing about pharmacies, their reply :you will learn.these are the kind of people who work in your pharmacies
Posted by: tb | July 16, 2008, 4:24 pm 4:24 pm
Thank you for that very intelligent and thought provoking post. Though I am not sure what you expected me to take from that….
Posted by: Compound Pharmacy | July 21, 2008, 12:54 am 12:54 am
how can it be?
Posted by: pharmacy in rj | July 24, 2008, 5:34 pm 5:34 pm
i am a pharmacy tech student, but i agree with most of what people are saying. The pharmacy does get very busy whether you are at a chain pharmacy or your local pharmacy. I don’t think that is an excuse for someone to slack off. If you are really busy tell them it will be an hour or two if that is how behind you are. I also know the pharmacist has to double check prescriptions before they are handed to the patient. Normally, the PharmT’s are the ones who fill the prescriptions, the pharmacists mainly just answer patients questions, so I believe the pharmacist should have been more careful. I’m not putting all of the blame on them though. I do think if you have a hard time reading a prescription, you should call the doctor, but I also believe as a parent,you should check and see what your child is taking. Pharmacists are there to help you. if you have a question about what a prescription is, feel free to ask them, it is their job.
Posted by: Rochele | October 3, 2008, 12:08 am 12:08 am
Ok, I got the idea.
I have to take 6 different pills a day, done by Walgreens.
From now on I will READ the LABELS to make sure I am taking the correct medicine prescribed by my doctor, even that I have no idea what the name means and have no idea what the doctor prescribed.
ALSO, I WILL USE THE OPPORTUNITY TO EXPAND THE IDEA, NEXT TIME I WILL TAKE A FLIGHT TO PHOENIX, I WILL DELAY THE FLIGHT TWO HOURS, JUST BECAUSE I WILL WANT TO CHECK FUEL, ELECTRIC, WEATHER, TIRES, HYDRAULICS, ICING CONDITIONS, CHECK PILOT’S EMOTIONAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL, FAMILY STRESS, ETC.
Come on!!!
I don’t like the idea of the Pharmacist “guessing” my medicine name from the stone age doctor’s writing (didn’t he go to school and learn how to right?).
My life depends on my medicine, no matter what you think; The Doctor, The pharmacist and the Chemical Lab who produced the medicine are immediately and totally responsible. My responsibility is to take the medicine as prescribed, that’s all, 3 pills a day, that’s it.
Should I start to visit 3 different doctors just to make sure they all agree with the same medicine?
What about professionalism?
Since when, a person who is non medical educated will be responsible to check medicine labels, and take decisions about it? What about if I don’t know how to read?
If your job is to change tires at the Discount Tires whatever, it is better for you to make sure the wheel is VERY well secure before you return the car to me. If the wheel gets off two miles down the road, it WILL BE your full responsibility. I paid you to do YOUR JOB, because YOU KNOW how to do it. Later, you can be sorry as much as you want, it will NOT solve the problem of lack of attention.
If filling up 300 bottles of pills a day is too much for the risk of doing mistakes, THEN DO NOT DO IT!!! it is simple as that. Don’t transfer the responsibility to the customer just because you are irresponsible to not accept job overload. Yes, YOU CAN SAY NO to your boss, and if he fires you, so be it, that working place is no good for you or for the customers.
You can not gamble over patients health to keep your job, do you? if the answer is yes, then you are not thinking correctly, review your pharmacist pledge of honor and respect.
If you don’t understand 100% correctly the doctor’s writting “done with a piece of coal”, call the doctor. IT IS YOUR JOB to make sure.
Do you want me to say who is responsible for doctors write so badly? Who is accepting the prescriptions the way it is? Who can in a single day change it all?
If being a pharmacist is too much for your responsibilities, please seek an easier job, telemarketing perhaps?
And to the doctors; Why you must write prescriptions so badly? what is the problem? getting a medical degree damaged your brain function to write nicely? What you think it is? fashion to write in a way that only you (if true) can understand? Making part of the doctor’s class of professionals, automatically turns you in a complete writing moron? Come on! My check paying you is nicely written…
Next time I will go to your examination room, and you ask me what is wrong, I will talk jiberish, lets see if you understand…
Posted by: Wagner Lip | December 8, 2008, 2:29 pm 2:29 pm
I was recently fired from Wal-Mart because I didn’t catch an input error by a tech. The drug was Effexor XR 75mg. Had it been handwritten, even poorly, it almost certainly would have been filled correctly. However, the computer-driven description of the electronic system resulted in the following description, as best I recall: effexor 75mg venlafaxine hcl controlled release capsule. Why can a computer not simply identify XR as XR? Who’s trying to impress who? The patient got the wrong med, although hardly a big deal on the first dose. I lost my job, and cannot get a referral from Wal-Mart. I lost my way of life.
Posted by: Stephen Guess | April 16, 2011, 1:39 pm 1:39 pm