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Pharmacy Errors

Holding Florida Pharmacists, Pharmacies and Doctors Accountable

prescription medication

In the past, patients interacted directly with pharmacists at their local drugstores. Pharmacists knew their patients’ medical histories and current drug regimens. Today, multibillion-dollar corporations have replaced local pharmacies. Patients typically have never met the pharmacists responsible for filling their prescriptions, and instead talk only to cashiers to place and pickup their orders. Often, all transactions are conducted via mail with no human contact . These huge conglomerates have streamlined the script filling process, allowing them to recover more profit, but at a high cost to patients.

Founded over 45 years ago, Searcy Denney is an experienced medical malpractice law firm in Florida that handles complex claims involving pharmacy mistakes. We investigate the circumstances leading up to your injuries to determine whether the doctor, pharmacist or pharmacy is at fault and file a claim against the negligent professionals and entities.

Common Pharmaceutical Mistakes

The medication in a small pill or a drop of liquid has the power to heal, or harm. Pharmacies have a duty to fill your prescription correctly to avoid :

  • Allergic reactions and side effects: Pharmacists have a duty to check your medical history and flag medications contraindicated for your condition.
  • Drug interactions: Pharmacists have a duty to ensure you are not taking multiple medications that could adversely interact.
  • Medication mix-ups: Pharmacists have a duty to provide you with the correct medication, which can be complicated by similar looking pills or similar names of drugs.
  • Under or overdoses: Pharmacists have a duty to measure your doses correctly so you do not overdose or take an ineffective dose of the medication.

How Pharmacy Mergers Have Affected Patient Care

Pharmacies have grown into a volume business, focused on filling the most prescriptions quickly . This conveyor belt mentality gives rise to serious errors.

The pharmacists may not have access to your full history while filling your script or have the time to thoroughly review your records for dangerous drug interactions. Other medications or herbal supplements you take could interact adversely with the prescribed medication. Rarely do you speak to a trained medical professional to address concerns or discuss symptoms that might indicate a dangerous medical reaction. The printout you received with warnings and medical jargon is not a valid substitute.

Large drugstore corporations have multiple locations to serve patients. Despite maintaining a central computer system, your records do not appear at another location. A prescription filled at one location is not cross-referenced with one filled at a second location. This can be especially problematic for patients seeing several doctors for various medical conditions if the doctors also fail to fully investigate your pharmaceutical history.

Adding to the risk of error, overworked pharmacists often fill multiple prescriptions at once and handle thousands of tiny pills during the day. And yet, there is virtually no checks and balances that the pharmacist has not mixed up similar looking pills or miscalculated doses.

 

Contact a Florida Pharmacy Malpractice Attorney at Searcy Denney Today

Searcy Denney holds the medical professionals and pharmacies responsible for the injuries you sustained from an improperly filled prescription. For a complete free case analysis, contact our dedicated attorneys at (800) 780-8607. We handle your claim on a contingency fee basis.

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