Will I get written up at CVS for doing this?

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Buk Lau

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I'm a tech at CVS Pharmacy and I was filling the scriptpro machine with tablets, but from a different manufacturer. There were 4 tablets already in the machine from a previous manufacturer and we were busy so without thinking I opened a bottle and poured it in, thinking since it was the same drug and strength it wouldnt matter. I didn't put the tablets in the machine - instead I left them out because I'm fairly new and didn't know how to scan the label in,etc. Later the pharmacist told me that the tablets were comingled and we had to throw them away. She said that she was also going to call the district manager but chose not to. Instead, we just threw the pills in the strongpak bin. Will I get in trouble? There were about 800 tablets (ouch) but it s a pretty cheap drug so there's that...It was an honest mistake but I don't know how my PIC is gonna react

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It's not a mistake to knowingly mix drugs. I don't know if they could prove it was intentional but I would fire someone for that
 
Depends on how up-tight your pharmacy staff is. Mine would never write anyone up for anything we're super chill lol
 
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Having never worked with a ScriptPro, I am actually a little confused why you would throw away all 800 pills.

I have certainly filled an Rx with two different manufactures before (after approval by the patient).
 
Depends on how up-tight your pharmacy staff is. Mine would never write anyone up for anything we're super chill lol
Mine is really chill too, so I don't think I will be written up, since we have a great team and everything. But you never know - I ran a price check on 800 tablets of the drug and it came out to ~$100 for the patient so imagine how low it costs for us to order. Either way, I won't make this mistake again.
 
Having never worked with a ScriptPro, I am actually a little confused why you would throw away all 800 pills.

I have certainly filled an Rx with two different manufactures before (after approval by the patient).
Well, scriptpro or not, we mixed two different manufacturers, so I guess that's contamination. There was about 4 pills of the old manufacturer at the bottom so I guess all 800 pills were compromised. I legit didn't know you couldn't mix manufacturers though - isn't it the same pill basically? I know some patients prefer one over the other but what's the reasoning behind it? I'm just curious so I don't make this mistake again
 
We've mixed up the scriptpro before (when we had one) and we just separate them. Not that hard, not sure why they threw 800 pills out. Seems kind of lazy to me.
 
We've mixed up the scriptpro before (when we had one) and we just separate them. Not that hard, not sure why they threw 800 pills out. Seems kind of lazy to me.
Well I went to work today and nobody cared. Nobody even mentioned it. The night pharmacist is just one bitter, slow woman and I'm surprised she threatened to call the district manager, like I'm supposed to be scared or something - it was a mistake, geez. There were literally 4 pills at the bottom that were unlike the others, I'm sure we could have found them. Anyways, thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment
 
Well, scriptpro or not, we mixed two different manufacturers, so I guess that's contamination. There was about 4 pills of the old manufacturer at the bottom so I guess all 800 pills were compromised. I legit didn't know you couldn't mix manufacturers though - isn't it the same pill basically? I know some patients prefer one over the other but what's the reasoning behind it? I'm just curious so I don't make this mistake again

The main thing about mixing pills is informing the patient. You said the pills looked different, right? So imagine being a patient who was not informed and seeing 2 different looking pills in your bottle. They may be worried and think the pharmacy made a mistake. Since they were mixed in the machine, you guys have no record of who got multiple NDCs to easily explain this to the patient. You could always look up the pills on some pill identifying software and see that it is, in fact, the same medication but that will take a little more time when all of it could have been avoided in the first place.

I'm surprised they allow you to put the pills in the machine. That has always been a job for the pharmacist where I worked because it is basically verifying.

I would hope they would just let you know it was a mistake and move on. I don't see it being a huge deal as long as it doesn't continue to happen. I also agree with the others about not throwing them away. What a waste!
 
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