Many people in California depend on their prescription medication to treat whatever health issue ails them. So when a pharmacist hands you a prescription bottle, you should know that the medicine inside will positively affect your health and not cause your health issues to become worse. But sometimes pharmacies will make mistakes when filling a prescription, which can cause serious health problems.
As explained by Pharmacy Times, pharmacy errors commonly include a pharmacist prescribing a customer the wrong medication, or if the medicine is correct, prescribing the wrong dosage. In some instances, pharmacists do not provide customers with the correct information. Some medicines have harmful side effects, which customers should know about. Also, some medicines should not be taken together because their interaction may result in serious health problems.
Pharmacy mistakes can occur for a number of reasons. Information breakdowns between pharmacies and doctors can leave pharmacists with incomplete or misleading information about the prescription of a patient. Some pharmacists do not closely monitor pharmacy technicians for mistakes in measuring, labeling or dispensing medicine. Some pharmacists are not trained sufficiently and end up making mistakes. The long hours pharmacists put into their shifts can lead to fatigue, which in turn may result in errors filling prescriptions.
Given that human error contributes to pharmacy mistakes, it seems that entrusting the process to computers would serve as a solution, but in reality, automation can present its own problems. Ideally, refills generated by computer would cut down on errors and make filling prescriptions go faster, but the technology has been known to cause some problems. Older customers, in particular, have experienced problems trying to deal with automated prescription systems.
Pharmacies should do all they can to prevent these errors from occurring, such as making sure their staffs are properly balanced and not overworked. If you are concerned about your prescription medicine, asking questions of your pharmacist and your doctor can help reveal potential problems. This information is only presented as general education and not as legal advice.
