I’ve been allergic to penicillin since I was 16 or 17. I’ve always made sure that my medical and pharmacy charts note this. Twice I’ve had a pharmacist in the Air Force pharmacy substitute penicillin for another medicine. Both times I raised hell about it, but it didn’t seem to make much difference. Another time, a doctor handed me a prescription for penicillin, even though I had “Penicillin allergy” on my chart and I had told him that I was allergic to it during the visit. I always, always, always check my medicine before I take it.
When I was a senior in HS, I clerked in a small pharmacy. Only mistake I ever saw was caught by the pharmacist just after the customer left. I was on my way with the corrected Rx before they got home so the pharmacist could call them.
This was a case of the pharmacy did not have the size pill indicated on the Rx, so the pharmacict substituted 2X half-dosage pills, but neglected to change instructions from
“take one pill X times/ day” to “Take two pills…”
I’m glad it turned out all right, but it’s always best to check. I’d much rather feel a little foolish about being overly cautious than risk a potentially fatal outcome, no matter how unlikely you think that might be.
My family’s screwed-up prescription story is moderately dramatic. Mr. Legend takes a heart medication three times a day. Our Walgreens pharmacy once filled his prescription with tablets of a much higher dose than was prescribed. He had been taking the medicine for over six years when this happened, and the pharmacist there had been there for at least three of those years. The pills looked almost exactly the same; the only difference was that the 200 mg. version was a little bit thicker than the 150 mg. one. He had taken them for two and a half days (eight doses) before he started feeling bad enough to go to the emergency room, and that’s when he suspected something was wrong with his prescription. The ER doctor found his blood pressure was dangerously high and his heart rhythm was very erratic. He didn’t have to be admitted to the hospital that time, but his cardiologist told him that another day or two of the high dose might well have killed him.
The New Mexico Board of Pharmacy later sanctioned that store and one other Walgreens pharmacy in town for understaffing and improper supervision of pharmacy techs. Walgreens corporate was very apologetic about the mistake, and they sent us a check for the medical bills, lost work time, and a little extra for our trouble. I’m just thankful it wasn’t any worse, and ever since, when I pick up prescriptions (at the new, smaller, pharmacy we switched to), I really look at the pills when the pharmacist shows them to me to confirm that they look right.
The gov’t agency I work for* is doing a lot of research on medical errors and how to prevent them. There are some things you can do to protect yourself. As a public service announcement, take a look at: 20 Tips to Help Prevent Medical Errors
Particularly, see #6:
If you aren’t certain you have the right medication, ask before you take anything.
*I’m not a researcher or medical professional, just one of the people who manage the website.
FYI, and only because I was doubted in my previous post. I spoke to my Pharmacist and my Vet today, regarding prescriptions for animals. Your location may vary, but, where I live, there are no ‘Animal Drug Stores’. If your pet…or farm animal…needs medication for whatever reason, your Vet will write a prescription on a form exactly like an MD. They are, after all, Doctors of Veterinary Medicine. That script is filled at your friendly human Drug store.
I’ve been getting prescriptions for allergies for many years and for many years I never had my prescriptions fouled up. Of course, until I was 30 years old my grandfather was my pharmacist. And he was consistently considered to be the best in the area and the entire state on many occasions. When he died we literally cleaned out probably 60 awards/plaques he had been given in the course of his life (he was too humble to display even one publicly.)
And of course the first time I had my prescription filled by a different person there were three different types of pills in one bottle, none of which looked similar to the pills I had been taking for years.