20/20 newscast about pharmacy errors

[my3labs]

I haven't seen the entire video but have so far found it interesting:

http://abcnews.go.com/Video/playerIndex?id=2992803

Sorry, it's a video link.

[Oracl]

Scary stuff! :eek:

[Gliondrach]

Shocking.

[Charmagne]

That is so sad. The poor little girl and I'm sure - like the mother said - she does feel a little guilty. I've seen these mistakes happen firsthand. I worked as a Pharmacy Technician for four years in the late 70's and early 80's for Eckerd Drugs. The pharmacist that worked on the opposite shift made several mistakes - with one causing damage that resulted in a court case. He gave ear drops to someone whose prescription was for eye drops - so they used these ear drops in their eyes and eyesight was damaged. I have gone to people's homes to pick up prescriptions that were filled wrong. One I remember that was just stupid - he filled birth control pills for a man. I had to go to this man's house to take the correct prescription and get my hands on the wrong one before he decided to take any action. The pharmacist was color blind - not good for a pharmacist but still no excuse - he used to ask me if his outfits he wore to work matched!:agree: He is still around and has a weekly column in our newspaper for OTC drugs.:sigh:

More recently Sav-A-Center - a grocery store chain with an in-store pharmacy filled my sister's Zyrtec (for allergies) with Zoloft (for depression). She started to take one and I noticed the different color and it clearly said Zoloft on the pill itself. It seems in this case the Pharmacy Technician had become so cocky in her position that she released the filled prescription without the pharmacist's approval. She no longer works there.

It's scarey and people taking regular drugs have to pay attention to color changes, shapes - these are supposed to be noted by the pharmacist for the customers but doesn't always happen.

CVS just recently came out with a great label on their bottles - it tells you what color the drug is supposed to be and what numbers and drug company's names are on the pills. To anyone who reads their labels - it's almost mistake proof.

[Oracl]

CVS just recently came out with a great label on their bottles - it tells you what color the drug is supposed to be and what numbers and drug company's names are on the pills. To anyone who reads their labels - it's almost mistake proof.
Sounds like a good idea. :agree: