Wrong presciption

[Wee Mite Miniatures]

My doctor called in a prescription for me on Thursday. I had never taken this med before.

I picked it up, took it home, and looked at the bottle. The name just seemed way too long for what the doctor told me. Then I noticed a few lines up the name of the med the doctor told me. Now I am thinking it is generic med or something.

I start to read the printed information that came with the prescription. The med was for something totally different the what I needed. I call the pharmacy and after passing me from person to person they finally tell me it is the wrong meds. I go and pick up the right meds.

At home I realize that I have never taken this stuff before and would have no idea if it was the right bill in the bottle or not. I did a search on the computer for "what pill is this". WOW there are so many sites that will tell you what pill you have just by the shape color and number imprinted on the pill.

The person at the pharmacy really messed up. Not only had she given me the wrong pills she list both the correct pill and the wrong pill on the label. To do that she had to have typed in the right name then scanned in the wrong.

Check your pills. My mom told me there over the last few months several of the seniors at the senior center have told her the other drug store in town has given them the wrong meds. My dad got the wrong meds once recently too.

Check all your meds when you pick them up to make sure you have the right stuff.

 

[shorthorsemom]

Excellent advice. I also double check the dosage strength and how much they are giving you. Especially for children. If you have any questions go back to the pharmacy and they will do the research for you and they can prove it is correct for you. Even if the pharmacy is wrong, they will tell you and correct it. I have also seen directions telling you to put ear medicine in your eye etc. so it is important that you double check the directions. Ask questions if you are not 100 % sure. In addition, if you ever have odd symptoms after taking a dosage, do not take another dosage until you talk to your doctor. Sometimes itching palms for instance can indicate you are starting an allergic reaction. Taking dose number 2 can send you to the hospital...

cheers, thanks for sharing your experience, very valuable information.

 

[Connie P]

This is EXCELLENT advice! Thank goodness you had the insight to check things over before just taking the meds. That could have been disastrous.

 

[wildoak]

Great advice. It apparently is a huge problem, according to the news media, and one that could be disastrous.

Jan

 

[Miniv]

Thank heaven you were on the alert. I would think a pharmacy would be open to a lawsuit if a person took the wrong meds and it did something bad.

 

[Katiean]

I was in the hospital and the nurse came in to give me my meds. He is telling me what each pill was and what it was for. I am thinking "OK, maybe the DR made some changes and didn't tell me". He came to one med and I said "Why would the DR give me that?" The nurse stopped and then asked me my name. I told him. He checked my wrist band. OOPS!! He shot out of the room. The only pill that would have hurt me was the blood presure pill. But my blood Presuer shot up so high when I found out that he was giving me another patiants meds. With what transpired after the meds thing, I told the administrator Not to even suspend this nurse. I don't think he would ever do that mistake again.

 

[NoddalottaFarm]

I have always worried about this because I have always been on a mess of medications. I make sure the doctor WRITES DOWN the exact name of the medicine I will be taking, and I use Walgreens Pharmacy. Walgreens has a paper that tells you what your pills should look like and what writing should be on the pills. That way you know if the correct pill is in the bottle. I also open the bottle before I leave the counter and make sure the pills are in the bottle. I've had a friend get home only to find out only 1/2 of the pills were in the bottle. THAT is a hard battle to win, but after making them count their remaining supply and check against pills already used, she got her correct amount. You can never be too careful.