Not many people have heard about pharmacist’s malpractice, but it’s alive and well and definitely may be the source of a malpractice lawsuit.
Pharmaceutical error is not something a lot of people take the time to think about. They go to the drugstore, pick up their prescription and go home to take it. But, what if the drug was not the right one? What if the dose was not correct? What if the pills were time-released capsules and someone crushed them and gave them that way instead, significantly and dangerously increasing the dose the patient was supposed to take?
All these “What ifs” are real happenstances, and this should scare you into taking more care about drugs you take and what the directions indicate. Malpractice insurance isn’t just for doctor’s alone; it is for any health care professional in the medical field. Pharmacies are no different, and have distinct insurance predicated on their particular hazards, as opposed to the risks a physiotherapist may assume.
Pharmacist malpractice is on the rise, thanks to new technologies and new drugs hitting the market faster than the industry can keep up. The world of medicine keeps up a torrid, never-ending, fast-paced tango, and it’s no small wonder that mistakes are made. The rapid pace of change causes errors to creep into daily work, with the end result being gravely injured consumers who took certain drugs in good faith – faith that the medicine dispensed was the right one for them.
The ultimate responsibility of a pharmacist is to ensure that prescriptions are accurately filled; the correct dose, correct drug, and the correct instructions concerning drug interactions, etc. It is also incumbent on the pharmacist to check doctor’s handwritten prescriptions if the handwriting is so bad they can’t really interpret the instructions properly.
Guessing at what a doctor says just doesn’t cut it, as the doctor may have the wrong dose, the wrong drug or the wrong length of time for the patient to take the medication. While doctors certainly strive to keep up with all the new medications on the market, chances are, since they are human, they will make the occasional blunder.
Thanks to the rapid changes in technology, there are more new drugs on the market virtually every day. It should come as no surprise that pharmacists and even doctors have trouble keeping up with all of them. Ultimately it’s a pharmacist’s responsibility to make sure the prescription filled is the correct drug, the correct dose, and the correct length of time to take the medication, plus issue any warnings about side effects and drug interactions.
Were you aware that over 1.3 million people suffer from injuries every year thanks to medication errors? Those errors alone cost the health care system between $29 and $59 billion – yes, billion – a year. Stop and think about the ramifications of those numbers for a minute. There are over 100,000 deaths each year due to pharmacy malpractice. That death toll is higher than the number of fatalities yearly from car accidents. That’s a high price to pay for a mistake that should never have happened in the first place.
If you think you have been given the wrong medication, been told to take an incorrect dose or were given the wrong prescription, you may be entitled to compensation. Contact a highly trained pharmacist malpractice attorney who will inform you of your rights and ensure you obtain justice.
Christopher Mellino is a Cleveland Malpractice Lawyer specializing in Cleveland Medical Malpractice cases in Ohio. To learn more about Cleveland medical malpractice, Cleveland malpractice lawyer, Cleveland medical malpractice, Cleveland medical malpractice lawyer, visit Christophermellino.com.
