Why the Big Deal?

Just like waking up and getting dressed for the day, picking up your prescriptions from your nearest pharmacy quickly becomes a mundane part of your routine. Rather than scrutinizing every step in receiving your medication, we brush off the offering of counsel and assume a pharmacy error wouldn’t happen. Nobody wants to think a pharmacist could be negligent in their practices, but this issue is far more common than you’d expect.

For many people, the medications they’re prescribed are an essential part of living. With that in mind, imagine getting the wrong dosage or someone else’s prescription entirely. What was meant to be an essential life tool very quickly becomes a potential danger.

On the topic of a pharmacy error, there are a number of things that could go wrong. The most common issues in this respect are:

• Incorrect Dosages: In some cases, the pharmacist may only take a simple glance at the doctor’s prescription. Failing to pay close attention to the actual dosage can result in you either receiving too high or too low of a dose.

• Incorrect Medication: Because the names of some medications sound very similar, it’s always possible that a pharmacist misread the prescription from your doctor.

• Incorrect or Inadequate Instructions: Following the instructions for medication could mean the difference between life and death. If you receive the wrong instructions with your prescription, it could be fatal.

• Incorrect Person for the Medication: Unfortunately, some pharmacists and pharmacy technicians don’t pay close enough attention to the person picking up their medication. In some cases, people have received medication for an entirely different person and didn’t realize it until after they got home.

Regardless of whether you get your prescriptions from a large pharmacy retailer or your local small-scale pharmacy, these mistakes do happen. Our free e-book, “Making Pharmacies Pay For Their Errors,” can give you the tools to protect yourself and those close to you in the event of pharmacist malpractice and negligence. Contact us today and we will review your case.