I have blogged on this tragic story earlier. In 2006, Emily Jerry was receiving treatment for cancer at a Cleveland Hospital. She was due to leave the hospital after her treatment, and was getting a last round of chemo. However, a pharmacy technician at the hospital mixed the chemo drug with a saline solution that was more than 26 times the prescribed amount. Emily fell seriously ill as a result of the error, and died three days later. 

It’s hard to imagine that anything good could come out of this tragic death, but Emily’s parents have found a way to do just that. They have managed to use their tragedy for the greater good. They spearheaded efforts to pass Emily’s Law which was signed in 2009.  The law requires that prescription errors be reported to the Ohio pharmacy board, and that there be a limit on the number of technicians under a pharmacist’s supervision.

Scott Grossman is a pharmacy error lawyer representing injured victims of pharmacy errors in New Jersey and nationwide.

Last week, I blogged about a new national pharmacy error alert system that gives me some hope that preventable tragedies like these do not occur again. The American Society of Health System Pharmacists has collaborated with the Institute for Safe Medication Practices to launch a national alert system to prevent medication errors. The system will monitor serious medication errors that take place around the country, and will inform the ISMP network of approximately 35,000 pharmacists, as well as other health care professionals of the error, via email. The alert will come with a complete description of the error that has occurred, as well as guidelines to prevent these from occurring at the hospital.

It’s too early to say how successful this national alert system will be, but as a pharmacy error lawyer, I fervently hope that the system will prevent the kind of errors that have contributed to the death of this Minnesota victim.

If you have had any experience with pharmacy errors in New Jersey, l want to speak with you in connection with a special TV report on pharmacy errors. Please contact me at my office.

The victim John Sheridan, an attorney, developed melanoma on his back in 2007. The cancer quickly spread to his brain.  In September that year, Rite Aid issued a dose of a chemotherapy drug Temodar, which was much higher than his recommended dosage. According to the prescription, Sheridan was to take 14 capsules daily of Temodar.  That was roughly 10 times the normal dosage and almost double a fatal dosage. Rite Aid failed to spot the error, and filled out the prescription. Sheridan unwittingly took the high dose, which contributed to his cancer developing rapidly. Within the next month , Sheridan was dead.

When you undergo treatment for an illness, you expect that doctors, nurses and pharmacists in charge of your health are completely accurate in their diagnosis and treatment.  You depend on their sense of responsibility because as an ill person, or the loved one of a patient, you really don’t have a choice but to place your trust and faith in the hands of the doctor or pharmacists. The Rite Aid pharmacy here had a golden opportunity to correct a serious medication error

If you have had any experience with pharmacy errors in New Jersey, l want to speak with you in connection with a special TV report on pharmacy errors. Please contact a pharmacy error lawyer at my office.

The company in question is CVS, which has the highest number of stores – 285 of them - in the state out of all the nationwide chains. According to the report, the distinction with other chains doesn't quite end there. CVS also has the highest number of citations from  the North Carolina Pharmacy Board for prescription errors. In fact, the Board has repeatedly cited the chain for creating a work environment in which employees are likely to make mistakes.

Regular customers who get their prescriptions filled at CVS are noticing the difference in service, the report says. Staff members often seem to be in a hurry to rush through prescriptions. It's not simply a desire to squeeze more out of their workday that's behind this high speed work environment. As the report points out, the company has incentive systems in place that reward employees based on the volume of prescriptions they fill. In fact, CVS pharmacists routinely receive updates on the amount of extra cash they stand to make depending on how quickly they can fill bottles with pills.

The extent to which CVS has been able to continue this practice unchecked, is shocking. Consider these statistics – the Board of Pharmacy stipulates 150 as the number of prescriptions that can safely be filled by a pharmacist in a single day. At CVS, some former employees have gone on record to claim that on a busy day, it's not unusual for pharmacists to fill as many as 500 prescriptions.  

In one complaint of pharmacy error against CVS that was filed with the Board, a pregnant woman took home what she thought was anti-morning sickness medication from her local Salisbury CVS store.   Only, it turned out to be a drug that's prescribed for patients with spinal injuries. When the Board investigated the number of prescriptions that were filled on the day of the potentially tragic mistake – a common practice when pharmacy errors are reported – it was found that the pharmacist responsible had filled 513 prescriptions on that particular day.

CVS itself sees nothing wrong with the speed at which prescriptions are filled at its stores. According to a spokesperson, certain speed is necessary in "specific defined circumstances."   The blasé attitude at CVS towards the concerns of the Board and the public, as well as the company's focus on volume and profits at the cost of patient safety, is appalling. But it's far from an isolated case. The push for profits over safety is common to most of the major nationwide pharmacies. The kind of prescription errors that result when pharmacists are counting the dollars that will be chalked up on their incentive sheets, instead of focusing on the name of the medication they are filling out, should be a cause for worry, not only for pharmacy error lawyers, but also consumers.

Our thoughts and prayers are with Jessie Scott and his family.

Kiii.com, a television station in Texas, further reported that the premature twins, a boy and a girl born to Eric and Erica Garcia, were transferred to Christus Spohn after birth  and allegedly died from the Heparin overdose. While the hospital is not admitting responsibility for the twins’ death since they were born four weeks early, they are investigating the matter. It is of note that two of the staff pharmacy employees have taken temporary leave.

Our hearts go out to the Garcia family during this difficult time.

 Once again, I implore the public to be extra vigilant when shopping at these pharmacies. It is bad enough that we are forced to defend ourselves against prescription errors at the hands of pharmacists and their technicians; now simply going to the shelves for Tylenol or a can of Similac has become a potential health threat to us as well.