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Walmart pharmacy error causes teen to go into coma

Kinda scary though. There is no way for the us to tell whether what we're taking is safe. It's a risk every time you go to the pharmacy and take something home. I'm asking the pharmacist to do a taste test on my meds first =X
 
Sucky, and I'm sure that pharmacist feels horrible. I doubt they were overworked - it was just a simple mistake.
Pills seem safer to me than liquids - at least you can tell what dosage you're getting by the size of the pill (relatively, at least, to pills of the same type). Of course, that isn't always possible, like in this case.
 
Holy shit that's a lot of Hydrocodone to take at once. Thats like taking 20 of those Lortab/Vicodin 5mg pills at once. It's even worse with all the acetaminophen that comes with it - absorption is probably a lot faster in liquid form too. He would have been totally wasted very very quickly. I wonder how many doses she gave.

 
Man, that's tough, it could happen to anyone, any time. Mistakes can happen, no matter what processes are set up to prevent them. Sad for the kid and the family.

The article reads like it was written by a 12 year old though. Whoever wrote that should go back to re-try 3rd grade.
 
Originally posted by: PottedMeat
Holy shit that's a lot of Hydrocodone to take at once. Thats like taking 20 of those Lortab/Vicodin 5mg pills at once. It's even worse with all the acetaminophen that comes with it - absorption is probably a lot faster in liquid form too. He would have been totally wasted very very quickly. I wonder how many doses she gave.
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Actually, it was liquid Oxycodone that didn't contain any acetaminophen. So its more like 20 percocets minus the APAP.

Either way, thats a crap ton of Oxycodone to take at once. Opioid overdoses are not pretty.
 
Originally posted by: PokerGuy
Man, that's tough, it could happen to anyone, any time. Mistakes can happen, no matter what processes are set up to prevent them. Sad for the kid and the family.

The article reads like it was written by a 12 year old though. Whoever wrote that should go back to re-try 3rd grade.
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It's worse than that. It's factually wrong.

First, my sympathies to the family. It's always tragic when these things happen.

I'm not sure where the medication error occurred. Contrary to the attorney, oxycodone solution is never diluted by the pharmacist. The attorney is lying or ignorant.

Also, with reimbursements reduced by private and government agencies, staffing is being cut. Every pharmacist I know in typical retail settings is overworked, and worse constantly distracted. Everyone wants a piece of you, and they want it now. If the opportunity came for me to earn a similar income I'd be out, but from a practical standpoint that's not happening. Walmart introduced it's much lauded 4$ prescription program which instantly meant that their prescription department became a huge loss leader. Paper pushers minimize the damage by cutting hours while the volume increases. I'll stop now as I could go on and on. What I tell pharmacy students is avoid retail at all costs, bottom line.

What people don't realize is the vast potential for medication errors. I catch several potentially fatal prescriptions a week coming from doctors offices. I'm sure whoever was on that day prevented hundreds or thousands of such errors, but being human and overworked something has to get by. Every pharmacist prays that it's nothing like this.

Regardless, here is what I think could have happened.

The prescription was filled correctly, but the patient didn't understand that it was to be diluted first.

or

The prescription was filled incorrectly, with the correct medication dispensed, but the directions either mistyped or misread.

or

The prescription was filled incorrectly, with the correct directions but that the wrong drug was dispensed. That would be either because whoever filled the prescription read or inputed it incorrectly into the computer and it wasn't caught before it went out, or the doctor wrote for the wrong drug and the pharmacist didn't catch it before it was dispensed.

Some of these are more or less likely, but I can't go into that right now because I have to go to work and pray I don't make the same kind of mistake because my company cut staffing- again.
 
I was going to the same pharmacy (Albertsons/SaveALot) for about 5 years getting the same hypertension meds. One day the pill from a smaller brownish pill to a slightly larger white pill. When I mentioned it to the pharmacist he double checked and said it was correct and said that's the way that generic has always been coming. I told him I'm 100% positive I've been coming here for years and my prescription was definitely different. Either he's wrong and the generic changed or they were giving me the wrong meds for years - I'm guessing the former. Anyway, that goes to show you they aren't perfect and mistakes can happen.

Edit: FWIW, I don't like Walmart but I don't think they should be singled out here.
 
Hayabusa Rider: Is is really true that some liquid prescriptions are filled with concentrates and that the consumer is expected to dilute them? This seems just wrong to me, both from a human factors standpoint and from what I, as a layman, would expect from pharmacist's services. It would seem that the probability of the consumer screwing it up by improperly diluting or not diluting at all, would be exponentially higher than the pharmacist making this error-plus the pharmacist almost certainly has more accurate measuring equipment.

Those of us with elderly relatives know what a chore it can be for them just to organize and take their pills at the proper times and dosages.

Also, is the practice of having the consumer dilute the concentrate fairly common?


 
For the most part, pharmacists are not the only one filling prescriptions, Pharmacy Technicians do too (my sister is one)
 
I hope he can recover as much as possible.

That said

Got to get off the drug pushing doctors anyway.

A couple of shots of good whiskey /Bourbon etc would've done a better job and certainly much safer.
 
Originally posted by: dmcowen674
I hope he can recover as much as possible.

That said

Got to get off the drug pushing doctors anyway.

A couple of shots of good whiskey /Bourbon etc would've done a better job and certainly much safer.
Click to expand...

uhmm is that sarcasm? you know alcohol weakens your immune system, thus taking you longer to recover...
 
Originally posted by: dmcowen674
I hope he can recover as much as possible.

That said

Got to get off the drug pushing doctors anyway.

A couple of shots of good whiskey /Bourbon etc would've done a better job and certainly much safer.
Click to expand...

if you're ignorant about science/medication/biomedicinal chemistry, it's probably better to keep your mouth shut first.
 
Originally posted by: JohnCU
Originally posted by: dmcowen674
I hope he can recover as much as possible.

That said

Got to get off the drug pushing doctors anyway.

A couple of shots of good whiskey /Bourbon etc would've done a better job and certainly much safer.
Click to expand...

uhmm is that sarcasm? you know alcohol weakens your immune system, thus taking you longer to recover...
Click to expand...

Like a major drug won't? 😕

A little alcohol won't compromise the system.

My god how did we get to 2008?
 
Originally posted by: Taejin
Originally posted by: dmcowen674
I hope he can recover as much as possible.

That said

Got to get off the drug pushing doctors anyway.

A couple of shots of good whiskey /Bourbon etc would've done a better job and certainly much safer.
Click to expand...

if you're ignorant about life, the universe and everything, it's probably better to keep your mouth shut first.
Click to expand...


Had to correct that a bit for you...
 
Originally posted by: powpowpow
link

Overworked pharmacist?
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Why put walmart into youre title?
This is a very common thing throughout the pharmacutical establishment!
The word "WalMart" has no bearning at all on this artocle!!
 
Originally posted by: PottedMeat
Holy shit that's a lot of Hydrocodone to take at once. Thats like taking 20 of those Lortab/Vicodin 5mg pills at once. It's even worse with all the acetaminophen that comes with it - absorption is probably a lot faster in liquid form too. He would have been totally wasted very very quickly. I wonder how many doses she gave.
Click to expand...

He consumed 1 teaspoon measured in a medicine cup which in its concentrated state contained 20 times the prescribed dose (100mg).
 
Originally posted by: Robor
I was going to the same pharmacy (Albertsons/SaveALot) for about 5 years getting the same hypertension meds. One day the pill from a smaller brownish pill to a slightly larger white pill. When I mentioned it to the pharmacist he double checked and said it was correct and said that's the way that generic has always been coming. I told him I'm 100% positive I've been coming here for years and my prescription was definitely different. Either he's wrong and the generic changed or they were giving me the wrong meds for years - I'm guessing the former. Anyway, that goes to show you they aren't perfect and mistakes can happen.

Edit: FWIW, I don't like Walmart but I don't think they should be singled out here.
Click to expand...

I think they make you put the little sticker that includes the physical description of your meds now
 
I think meds get diluted in the pharmacy. I've never seen/heard of a situation where the person has to dilute their own meds.

Interns can fill too. Now that's a scary thought =X
 
Originally posted by: PokerGuy

The article reads like it was written by a 12 year old though. Whoever wrote that should go back to re-try 3rd grade.
Click to expand...

It's a transcript of the news segment displayed immediately above the story.
 
Originally posted by: powpowpow
I think meds get diluted in the pharmacy. I've never seen/heard of a situation where the person has to dilute their own meds.

Interns can fill too. Now that's a scary thought =X
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The med pictured was oxycontin oral concentrate. It is not and has never been intended to be diluted by the pharmacist. When I have dispensed this med, it's been for such things as end stage terminal cancer. Strep throat? Never even heard of that before?

BTW, filling a prescription is a process. Others can input into the computer, others can count, however the ultimate check is done by the pharmacist. That's why we have a saying- "Only a pharmacist can make a mistake"
 
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