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Old 10-16-2007, 03:24 PM
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mrsD mrsD is offline
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Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Great Lakes
Posts: 33,508
15 yr Member
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Quote:
Originally Posted by LizaJane View Post
Do you know if there are any mandatory mechanisms that pharmacies are supposed to have when they dispense an incorrect medication? I know hospitals make out "incident reports" that get some sort of oversight. But what are pharmacies suppoesd to do when they give out the wrong drug?

Are there rules?
I thought we had been over this subject thru email in the recent past?

An incident report is only used by lawyers and insurance companies. A private pharmacy can do whatever it wants to. It can be very careful, or sloppy and pay the price.
How does it pay a price? It gets sued. Or it loses its license.

A private pharmacy answers only to the Board of Pharmacy in its state.
That is it, in regards to errors. The board does not know if any pharmacy is doing sloppy things unless people report it. In a corporate situation in a chain, there is a heirarchy to which you report. They then go to their insurance carrier, who tries to settle you out. This may be done without State Board interference, if no complaint is made. Not all patients complain of an error, but if they do, the company expects an incident report to be there.

The State board governs all health professions. It is the premier place to make a complaint.

I think what is at stake here is your contribution to the situation. You did not notice your labels were wrong. So you hesitate to make the complaint.
In a liability situation this may reduce your claim. But in a complaint to the State, it will have no if any bearing.

A private pharmacy may or may not fill out an incident report. A corporate chain requires a report as part of the job description, but that does not mean it will be done. I have seen many things... Rxs mysteriously disappear, false reports, you name it. If you do not have PROOF that you were given the wrong thing....and I recall recommending that you SAVE all your receipts and bottles... then you have no legal standing. And very little back up to a formal complaint to the Board in your state.

There is NO recourse for an error to a private pharmacy other than the State Board. The State determines the license of the place. Without a license there is no pharmacy.

There is a movement in Congress right now to tighten controls over compounding pharmacies. This is to ensure that illegal drugs are not used, inappropriately in compounds. Some believe that compounding pharmacies are loose cannons. Others believe that they perform custom services for patients that are necessary.

In your case, a drug which is not FDA approved for nasal application, because of harm, was ordered for you and you used it. I think you should seek an attorney with experience in malpractice for complete answers. Statute of limitations is typically two years. After that no liability recourse is available.
There may be still valid the complaint to the State. That depends on the public health laws of your state.

Also you might have a claim against the doctor, who used a dangerous substance to treat you. If he exceeded normal level of care, he is culpable, as well. That would be a civil tort action, and you would have to start it.

edit to add: If this pharmacy has no other complaints against it, typically they will be reprimanded and perhaps a fine levied.
If there are numerous complaints, and you are not the only one, then stricter actions may result. Having a written reprimand in the file protects others of the public down the road.
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Last edited by mrsD; 10-16-2007 at 06:48 PM.
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