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Pharmacist’s Mistake Can Lead to Serious Side Effects and Harm Patients

David W. Hodges
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Many prescription drugs have dangerous side effects such as serious allergic reactions, liver failure, heart problems, kidney failure, psychological effects, and more. Before patients take any prescription medications, their doctors should look over their medical records, health history, and review the other drugs they are currently taking to determine the pros and cons of prescribing another medication.

Treating a condition or illness is not as simple as writing a prescription. Doctors need to review the drug’s side effects and whether or not the new drug will interact with other prescription medications. Additionally, based on a person’s medical history, a doctor can determine if a patient can even handle the side effects of the new drug.

After taking all of that into account, a doctor should prescribe the correct medication. What if a doctor got it right, but the pharmacist filling the medication got it wrong?

The sheer volume of prescriptions being filled is astonishing and most pharmacists and pharmacy technicians handle a high volume of prescriptions daily. Dispensing massive amounts of prescriptions keeps pharmacists extremely busy and leaves room for a pharmacy error to occur. Additionally, staff shortages, distractions, and inadequate pharmacy technicians, increase the chance for mistakes to be made. Unfortunately, when it comes to dangerous side effects, any pharmacy mistake can cost patients serious injuries or their lives.

A patient should never have to pay with his or her health. A pharmacist’s job is to get the medication right the first time. Additionally, pharmacists have a duty to advise patients about serious side effects of prescriptions. Not only should a pharmacist dispense the correct medication, but he or she should counsel with every patient to review the potential side effects and teach them about their medication.

Unfortunately, mistakes behind the pharmacy counter occur far too often, and patients pay the price of pharmacists’ negligent and reckless actions. Pharmacy negligence can occur by providing a patient with the wrong dosage of medication (causing an overdose), the wrong medication (not the medication the doctor prescribed), or the wrong directions marked on the container. All of these pharmacy mistakes can cause patients severe side effects that could be life-threatening.

If you were a victim of a pharmacy error, you may have a pharmacy malpractice case. To find out more about your rights, or for assistance in filing a claim for damages, you should contact a pharmacy malpractice attorney at Kennedy Hodges, L.L.P. Call 888-526-7616 today to discuss your legal options during a free consultation. Also, fill out the form on our website to receive a FREE copy of our report, How to Make Pharmacies Pay for Injuries Caused by Medication Errors.


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