Blog Post

Rush for Profits Causes Prescription Errors


February 15, 2008
Topic: Pharmaceutical Liability

According to USA Today, greedy corporate policies, like encouraging or forcing pharmacists to fill out more prescriptions and offering incentives and bonuses for fast work, are contributing to an increase in the number of pharmacy errors that are taking place. A 2003 study in fact, pegged the odds of getting a prescription with a serious life threatening error filled at 1 in a 1000. Those are high numbers when you consider the number of prescriptions filled every day in this country.

A 2004 case highlighted the dangers of prescription errors and the fact that drugstore companies are creating ideal conditions for more errors to take place through their work policies. Five-year-old Trey Green who was prescribed Inderal to control his hand tremors, was instead given a steroid, Methitest, that is given to older males whose bodies aren't producing enough testosterone. Not only that, it was filled a total of 4 times, and little Trey ended up receiving double the recommended adult dosage of the steroid. The result? He went into premature puberty and began to display rages. The prescription was filled at Walgreens', one of the largest drug stores in the US, and the shocking fact of the matter is that when Trey's parents contacted their doctor to complain that his medicine wasn't helping their child, he increased the dosage. Unbelievably enough, Walgreens' made another mistake with this prescription too. Trey's parents sued Walgreens. The Jones' have no idea of the extent of the damage to their son's health. They will only learn as he gets older. His height could be compromised as a result of the steroid use, and some form of liver damage is a possibility, doctors say.

This wasn't the only horror story emerging from prescription errors. In 2001, 16-day-old Benjamin Goldberg was prescribed up to 5 times the recommended amount at a CVS pharmacy. When his father complained to the state pharmacy board, they found that the pharmacist who had filled Benjamin's prescription had filled a total of 400 prescriptions on that particular day. This kind of pushing the employees to fill more prescriptions, experts say, is what's causing these increasing and serious errors.

According to a USA Today study, which lays bare the frightening facts, staff at Walgreens and CVS work on a schedule that seems to stress speed in filling prescriptions rather than accuracy. The average time for a Walgreen prescription to be filled is a mere 2 minutes. The pharmacist is expected to get the medicine, dosage and instructions right in these two minutes. It's not hard to see where the errors are coming form.

Pharmacists themselves say that the pressure to rush towards filling prescriptions is huge. It's not uncommon, they say, to have 100 prescriptions waiting to be filled at the start of the day. What makes matters worse is that there are no regulatory guidelines that say a particular volume of prescriptions is too much, so the likes of Walgreens and CVS are free to set any target they want.

The US spends the equivalent of the GDP of a few dozen countries on its healthcare system, yet ranks among the lowest among industrialized nations in the quality of healthcare given to citizens. Whatever else we agree or disagree on, we universally agree that our health care system is a national embarrassment. The insurance companies fill their coffers, while millions are denied access to health care, and doctors push medicines and medical devices for profit. These prescription errors are just another example of the disregard to public health by companies who put profits ahead of safety.

If you have suffered adverse side effects from dangerous or incorrectly prescribed drugs, you need the help of a top California personal injury lawyer. Contact the attorneys at The Reeves Law Group for a free consultation.


The California personal injury attorneys at The Reeves Law Group represent victims of accidents, injuries and wrongful death throughout California from our offices in Los Angeles County, Orange County, San Diego County, Riverside County, San Bernardino County, Ventura County, Fresno County, Kern County, Sacramento County, San Fernando Valley, Long Beach, Antelope Valley, Torrance, Glendale, Bakersfield, Santa Ana, San Jose, San Francisco, Oakland, Ontario, and Victorville.