Types of Prescription Errors Occurring in Florida Pharmacies

Almost everyone has gone to the pharmacy to fill a prescription after receiving treatment in a hospital or other health care facility, and many Floridians rely on prescription medication on a daily basis. In most cases, we run into the drug store, head to the pharmacy counter, and simply hope to be on our way as quickly as possible. Rarely, do we consider that a pharmacy error could jeopardize our health. Unfortunately, however, the chance of an oversight or mistake being made in the course of making or filling a prescription is likely higher than we think.

For example, the FDA issues alerts to pharmacists if there is a potential for patient harm due to confusion between drug names. A couple months ago, the FDA warned pharmacists of the similarity between the name of an FDA-approved eye medicine, “Durezol,” and an unapproved prescription topical wart remover “Durasal,” containing 26% salicylic acid. One case was reported in which a serious injury resulted after a pharmacist mistakenly gave an eye surgery patient wart remover instead of eye drops.

Confusion between drugs with similar names is just one type of prescription error that can occur in health care facilities and pharmacies. According to the American Hospital Association, and reported by the FDA, medication errors may occur for many reasons; some of the most common include:

• Incomplete patient information, for example not knowing about patients’ allergies, other medicines they are taking, previous diagnoses, and lab results
• Unavailable drug information, such as lack of up-to-date warnings
• Miscommunication of drug orders, which can involve poor handwriting, misuse of zeroes and decimal points, confusion of metric and other dosing units, and inappropriate abbreviations
• Lack of appropriate labeling as a drug is prepared and repackaged into smaller units
• Environmental factors, such as lighting, heat, noise, and interruptions, that can distract health professionals from their medical tasks

While the FDA has taken many steps to bring down the high number of pharmacy errors that occur in Florida and throughout the nation, including a campaign to eliminate the use of ambiguous medical abbreviations, pharmacy errors continue to put many Florida prescription users at risk of harm. If a pharmacists negligence or mistake caused you to receive an incorrect prescription, you may be entitled to compensation for your resulting damages.

Experienced Florida Pharmacy Error Attorneys

If you or someone you love has been the victim of a pharmacy error by receiving an incorrect prescription or wrong dosage, contact Fetterman & Associates – The Law Team today for a free consultation. Our firm serves Florida personal injury victims in Martin County, Palm Beach County, and St. Lucie County.