How often does......

[trip]

How often does this happen?

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Last week I had a prescription filled. It was a refill and the quantity was clearly printed on the label. When I got home, I started to refill my weekly pill holder and thought that the bottle looked pretty empty. So, I counted them and there were only 30 pills instead of 90. I called the store, they apologized and offered to mail them to me. I said no I would pick them up the next day. I understand that mistakes happen and I was satisfied with their correction. No harm, no foul.

Anyway, I probably won't have noticed if I hadn't filled my weekly pill holder. It made me feel uneasy and was wondering what sort of quality control is used to make sure the correct amounts or even more important the correct medicine is dispensed.

Guess I'll make sure to count my pills from now on. Lesson learned...

 

[VickiVM]

Probably more often than you would think. I have a good friend who was undergoing chemo and was on pain meds. The pharmacy couldn't fill the total qty the dr. requested so they gave him what they had and was supposed to complete the order the next day. They went round and round after that because pharmacy later claimed they had completed the script. He went several days in pain because of the error. Don't recall what it took to correct the situation, but we all felt so bad for him.

 

[TheGottis]

Apparently there was no 2nd set of hands on the pills, as there should be. All RXs should be filled and then checked - by 2 different people.

The only way I can see it happening is if the pharmacist filled the RX personally and not a tech.

 

[padams]

I have had this happen to me- received 30 days instead of 90 days.

 

[hulagirl87]

I think mistakes like this happen a lot. My sister was given the wrong medication once because the names were very similar and the pharmacist couldn't read the doctor's handwriting on the prescription. My mom just had an issue with the pharmacy not filling the correct dosage as well. She was told that they do have someone double check the orders but apparently not

 

[dejr_8]

Apparently there was no 2nd set of hands on the pills, as there should be. All RXs should be filled and then checked - by 2 different people.

The only way I can see it happening is if the pharmacist filled the RX personally and not a tech.

To the OP: there are humans involved so there will be mistakes.

My wife is a Pharm Tech and recently did a CE training on new/expanded roles for Pharm Techs. One study showed that Pharm Techs had a significantly lower error rate than Pharmacists.

 

[minkydog]

That's why I always count my meds. Mistakes happen, not soooo frequently, but when they're making up hundreds of prescriptions each day at least a few of them are gonna have mistakes in them(hopefully, minor ones.)

 

[bumbershoot]

It's happened before with hubby. I always look to see how many, which is easy b/c he takes one pill a week of the important drug, but he always forgets. We finally got switched over to the 90 day supply through drugstore.com (which isn't filled by drugstore anymore, oddly) and things will be better. But for whatever reason, about half of the time, Walgreens just could NOT get the number right!

 

[3smithboys]

I had something similar happen to me. The pharmacy owed me 60 of my 90 pills and wrote on my bottle and my slip that they owed me the pills. When I went in a fews days later they said they had given me the correct amount and did not owe me anything. They practically accused me of lying to get more migraine meds!!! They spoke it me in such a rude way - I was not disrespectful in any way.... I just said that I was told to come back in 2 days to pick up the rest of my meds and I don't understand what the issue is?!?!?

Luckily, I kept the paper that said owed 60 and the bottle with the crossed out number on it which showed how many they had given me. I took it back to them, and they just said, oh ok and they gave me the pills - no sorry, no nothing! This was not a big chain place either, but a local small pharmacy that I stayed with because I thought it would be nice to help support local business. After that I switched all of my prescriptions (and I have a lot because of my migraines!!!) over to Target!

 

[j's m]

I have been short many times, received the wrong strength, had a bottle with both 20 mg and 40 mg mixed, had a totally wrong inhaler and that's just off the top of my head.

I get the $ 4 generics at K-mart and they are the worst. The pharmacist is there by himself and no one double checks. So I have to. Every time they change generic brands, I look the pill picture up and make sure I do have the rights meds. I also do this for any new med.

 

[tlbwriter]

Probably more often than you would think. I have a good friend who was undergoing chemo and was on pain meds. The pharmacy couldn't fill the total qty the dr. requested so they gave him what they had and was supposed to complete the order the next day. They went round and round after that because pharmacy later claimed they had completed the script. He went several days in pain because of the error. Don't recall what it took to correct the situation, but we all felt so bad for him.

My pharmacy has a special sticker they use that says "we owe you ____" and then they write in how many you are owed.

 

[PrincessSuzanne]

I had that happen to me a couple of weeks ago at a local CVS and the Pharmacist called me a drug addict, I let her have it and she gave me one of those "well if I offended you I'm sorry" apologies and a refund. I called Corporate and found out that she was a temp and was banned from the District my store is in. The Corporate President just about had a fit and said he would take care of it.

BTW, the meds are not even something that could be addicting.

Suzanne

 

[funnygarcia]

We figured out there was another person in the area with the SAME exact name as dh (and it's an unusual ethnic name for this area) , who also had complex medical needs and many scrips at the same pharmacy.


(Same county case workers for medical assistance too.. but the guy was like 80 and had a bunch of dependents living with him so they were able to keep it straight from our young family of 4

Anyway, we figured it out when the meds were correct, name was correct, address was correct, but phone number was not ours.
Relying on phone numbers and names shouldn't be the only safety precaution. How they managed to cross reference the info .. we have no idea!

We quit going (Walgreen's) due to continued supply issues each month on routine meds. Too much hassle to keep going back to get it filled. This does not happen at CVS, plus they delivery for free.

 

[redlight]

That would really bother me. If they gave the wrong amount, what is the possibility that they gave you (or someone else) the wrong medication?

 

[dis-happy]

Pharamacies that make a mistake don't get my business anymore. CVS has got to be the worst of the bunch (there have been news articles talking about thier error rate). There is one really good pharamcy at Target in my area and I use them exclusively now. The few times I went some place closer or easier at the time I ended up regretting it.

 

[hulagirl87]

Pharamacies that make a mistake don't get my business anymore. CVS has got to be the worst of the bunch (there have been news articles talking about thier error rate). There is one really good pharamcy at Target in my area and I use them exclusively now. The few times I went some place closer or easier at the time I ended up regretting it.

CVS is the pharmacy that messed up both my mom's and my sister's prescriptions. I won't go there anymore.

 

[mommy2allgirls]

I have friend who gave birth to a baby boy and soon after they discovered he had a heart problem. Well my friend went to fill his prescription at Walgreens and with the first dose of the medication he got worse. They went to the doctor and showed the pill bottle turns out the pharmacy gave him the adult dose which is 10 time more.

 

[C.Ann]

I've had it happen a few times, but now I'm at the point where I can "eye-ball" the bottle and pretty much know if the correct amount is in there without having to count them..

It's really a hassle if you are taking any kind of controlled substance (pain meds, sleep meds, etc.) so if you look at the bottle in the store and it doesn't look right, request a recount right then and there..

What I find more distressful is receiving the wrong meds - which has happened a several times - to me, my DD, her DH, her IL's - and it's always been at CVS pharmacies..

The only problem I have encountered with one particular Rite-Aid is the pharmacists inability to understand that some months have 30 days - and others 31 - so the refill doesn't always match up with the date on the bottle.. Actually had to have them take the calendar off the wall, point to each day, and count them with me..