According to a September 20, 2009 article in the Atlanta Journal Constitution entitled, “The Harm In Pharmacy Misfills,” three percent of all prescriptions dispensed by pharmacies have potentially harmful errors. While we all make mistakes, receiving a psychiatric drug like Nefazodone, rather than Allegra, the drug you were prescribed, can have potential fatal outcomes. For one, you are not taking the drug you were prescribed, and, second, you are taking a drug that can cause harmful symptoms. With the thousands of prescriptions filled every day, it is alarming to know that possibly three in every one hundred prescriptions are improperly filled.
If you are injured as the result of a pharmacy mistake, please call us. We will go to the store in question and ask to look at the front and back (it is common for pharmacies to put a “label” on the back of the prescription as it contains all important info) of your prescription. Under HIPPA, you have a right to see your medical record/prescription. The prescription belongs to the patient and not to the drug store. The drug store is required by law to keep the record on file for two years unless it is a Medicaid prescription and then the requirement is five years. If the pharmacy refuses to produce the front and back of the prescription, we will call the Georgia Drugs and Narcotics to file a formal complaint and stores do not want that. The pharmacist certainly doesn’t want that. A misfill usually goes down as a fine and a public reprimand for the pharmacist that misfilled the prescription. From the label on the bottle, we will be able to see the initials/name of the pharmacist. The license for this pharmacist must be displayed. Once we get the prescription, we will look at the printout and see what the medication is, the strength, dose and quantity. We are looking for how close the dispensed drug is to the ordered drug. If similar name and strength, the mistake is probably a result of poor writing. If typewritten, there is a greater chance for the pharmacy to have made the mistake.
Once we have concluded our investigation, we will contact the risk management department and seek to resolve your claim. If necessary, we will hire an expert pharmacist to provide an affidavit confirming that the drug store was negligent. Also, if necessary, we will file a lawsuit on your behalf. Regardless, we will do everything we can to maximize your recovery.
Please call us for a free consultation.