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Prescription For Disaster: One-Third Of Consumers Experience Prescription Errors, New Survey Finds

11 Apr 2008
READ full aricle: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/103603.php

One-third of America's 225 million prescription-takers now report experiencing a prescription error or knowing someone who has, according to the just-released "Parata Prescription Safety 2008" national consumer survey, available along with valuable consumer prescription safety information at http://www.myprescriptionsafety.org.

Pharmacies That Automate Will Soon Dominate

More than half of American adults take at least one prescription daily; yet, increased prescription use has not been accompanied by increased consumer vigilance.

Consumers readily admit to choosing their pharmacies for speed and convenience, rather than for safe prescription practices, "Parata Prescription Safety 2008" reported. "Proximity to work or home" was cited as the number-one reason for choosing a pharmacy by half of survey respondents, followed by "pricing" at 23 percent. Interestingly, a pharmacy's use of "automated dispensing equipment," a proven strategy for reducing prescription errors, ranked last in importance, cited by just 2 percent of respondents.

"Today's environment is a prescription for disaster: too few pharmacists, too many prescriptions and a lack of awareness among consumers about their role in ensuring prescription safety," said Ken Farbstein, a medication safety expert and managing principal of Boston-based Melior Consulting.

A Life-Saving Question No One is Asking

"It's a simple and potentially life-saving question every pharmacy customer should be asking: 'Does this pharmacy use automation technology?'" Farbstein said. "Every pharmacy should be evaluating technology as part of their strategy to reduce errors. Automation processes prescriptions more accurately and at faster speeds, freeing pharmacists and technicians to focus on answering questions and providing the patient care that is key to solving the emerging prescription error crisis."

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ONE STORY...well two

Here is my complaint and it spans a couple of months, but this last event "iced the cake for me" and I will be transferring out of Rite Aid at my next refill. There are more that are not urgent, but I don’t remember the details now.

1. I think it was the end of January. I have Parkinson’s disease and I KNOW my meds, after almost 21 years. I know the bottle size, the pill color and shape of my L-dopa. I was at the drive up window to pick up my refill of L-dopa (carbidopa/levodopa). The Tech passed me a bag and I instantly noted that the bottle didn’t feel right, so I questioned her and returned the bag to her. She checked with the pharmacist and came back to tell me that they didn’t have enough to fill the order, so this was a partial. Nothing unusual with a partial, but why don’t they tell you this when they hand you a scripts, why do I have to asked. But I was still uneasy, so I drove a little ahead since someone was behind me in line. I opened the bag and found a partially filled bottle. The rattle sound wasn’t right. So, I opened the bottle and found oval, dull yellow pills. I knew these were not the pills I have taken for the past 15 years. I looked at the pill description on the bottle and noted “Teva” “round yellow”…which is what I expected to find. This was obviously not what was in the bottle.
So, assuming I had the wrong pills, I drove around and got back in line. I gave the bag back to the tech and told her, “I don’t think this is right.” She left the window and upon returning told me, “These are from an different vendor/source.”

This did not settle well with me at all…the part about the description on the bottle being far differnet from the content. When I got home I went to the online PDR (http://www.healthsquare.com/drugs/49283.htm) I then called the phamacist and asked him why the content was not the same as the lable description. He was not pleasant at all. He told me that the Teva pills were breaking too much in shipment and they had to switch to Pfizer. I said that these were more difficult for me to break with my hand, I suppose that I will have to buy a pill cutter (which I hate since they don’t always cut the pill well). He very rudely told me that if I identified myself next time I came into the store that he would give me one. That was not my point. I am tremor dominate and breaking pills is not always easy, but the Teva brand are softer and break more easily.

Note: The refill I picked up on a week ago are from Teva.

2. This most recent event was very disturbing to say the least. I drove through the driveup. I tech retrieved a bag that was to have contained a large bottle of 210 L-dopa (carbidopa/levodopa). As soon as I picked up the bag out of the tray I knew it was not right. I opened the bag and discovered a bottle with about six pills (the ones I take for high-blood pressure) and I was puzzled since I didn’t remember ordering a refill of Lorazepam. I passed the bag back to the Tech and told here this was wrong that I was to have picked up carbidopa/levodopa. She took the bottle and bag to the pharmacist, and I assume they noted the name of the bottle, which I had not looked at. The script belonged to someone else. Gratefully I am not elderly and easily confused. She returned to the window and put my C/L in the bag and passed it back to me. I drove away, assuming all was well. NOT!! When I got home I discovered:

a) My bottle of 210 L-dopa…good.

b) My side effect/warning sheets with my name on them.

c) A notice that has no title that was addressed to Theodore Harris of 231 West Street, Gettysburg. This sheet has “details” stating that Mr. Harris’s insurer “Gateway Meciare Part D” declinded to pay for the medication and informing him to call the agency to solve the PRN issue.

d) Then I noted that on my side effect/warning sheets there was a sticker that said, “Harris, T” “Pkup: 03/28/1008 @ 12:00pm” The date of my pick up was after the 1st of April, since I had to wait for my LTD disabiltiy benefits to arrive.

e) I then realized that they were giving Mr. Harris a few pills to tide him over until he could resolve the Part D insurer issue.

What if I had taken this home and had taken the medication? What Mr. Harris had received my medication in turn? Lots of “what if” secenarios here.

Also, just how many times do I have to ask for non-safety caps. Each time I question the pharmacy about why I rarely receive my bottle with non-safety caps I am told that “sometimes they just miss the flag” that tells them the customer prefers those caps. This is UNACCEPTABLE. I should not have to go home and realize I have to return to the pharmacy for the right caps. Again, I am tremor dominate and need the non-safety caps.