Medication error report help, PLEASE!

[rxpharmdqd]

---

Members don't see this ad.

Please give me your advice!!! Please!!

Ok...this is what happened. Patient called our pharmacy saying that direction on label was wrong (pt was quite upset). I checked hard copy, but it was called in prescription and my partner took & filled it. Pt has been taking the same medication before with a different direction(correct direction) from a rx recently filled (wrong direction).

I called MD to verify it. Doctor verified that he didn't make any changes and he never called in that medication with a direction pt has on the vial right now.

I spoke to my partner (pharmacy manager) since he took rx and filled it, and he said that MD called in that way, so I should not fill out medication error report. He kept saying that there was no medication error since he filled rx the way MD called in. But MD said my partner took rx wrong. On his pt chart, he never called in rx with this direction (direction on pt vial)

Company takes hiding medication error very seriously, I have seen at least 3 pharmacists who were fired on a spot because of that.
Company policy is medication error report must be filled out by 'Discovering Pharmacist'.

What do you guy think?

 

[Aznfarmerboi]

Please give me your advice!!! Please!!

Ok...this is what happened. Patient called our pharmacy saying that direction on label was wrong (pt was quite upset). I checked hard copy, but it was called in prescription and my partner took & filled it. Pt has been taking the same medication before with a different direction(correct direction) from a rx recently filled (wrong direction).

I called MD to verify it. Doctor verified that he didn't make any changes and he never called in that medication with a direction pt has on the vial right now.

I spoke to my partner (pharmacy manager) since he took rx and filled it, and he said that MD called in that way, so I should not fill out medication error report. He kept saying that there was no medication error since he filled rx the way MD called in. But MD said my partner took rx wrong. On his pt chart, he never called in rx with this direction (direction on pt vial)

Company takes hiding medication error very seriously, I have seen at least 3 pharmacists who were fired on a spot because of that.
Company policy is medication error report must be filled out by 'Discovering Pharmacist'.

What do you guy think?

File it anyway! It protects you!

Most companies fire people for not reporting medication errors. It puts the company at risk! They can be sued too!

Ask your pharmacy supervisor (over manager) on what to do. In addition, most incident reports will tell you what to write and is pretty straight forward.

Whenever I discover an error made by my partner, I would give him the benefit of the doubt and leave it to him. There are a lot of things that can happen such as a change in prescription and the hard copy wasn't rescanned, etc. I always file my incident reports though.

 

[rxpharmdqd]

File it anyway! It protects you!

Most companies fire people for not reporting medication errors. It puts the company at risk! They can be sued too!

Ask your pharmacy supervisor (over manager) on what to do. In addition, most incident reports will tell you what to write and is pretty straight forward.

Whenever I discover an error made by my partner, I would give him the benefit of the doubt and leave it to him. There are a lot of things that can happen such as a change in prescription and the hard copy wasn't rescanned, etc. I always file my incident reports though.

Thank you so much for your reply. Our company policy is medication error report must be filled out by 'discovering pharmacist'

I know a pharmacist was fired for not filling out medcation error form which was NOT even her error!

My partner stongly said I (discovering pharmacist) should NOT fill it out since he did not make a mistake! On the other hand, doctor said he never called in with a direction my partner wrote down...

Would my partner be upset if I fill out medication error report even though he told me not to??? But not filling out a form knowing that there is some discrepancy put me at risk! Ahhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

 

[Rebel78]

No question, fill it out. Not even debatable.

 

[KARM12]

They patient already called and inquired about it. I would fill out the report. I understand you don't want to get your partner in trouble, but you have to protect yourself. If the patient were to do anything about it, you would be going down with the other pharmacist because you did not fill out the report. With how the job market is, you need to look out for yourself.

 

[Ilikechemicals]

This is an interesting discussion. I always wondered where the liability lies on RXs phoned in. Half the time you are talking to some person who cant even pronounce the drug ("simvastin" never fails) or who cant read the MDs writing.

IMO pharmacists are pretty much screwed since the other person will always deny calling in something incorrectly.

 

[Pharmguy07]

Who caused the error doesn't affect whether or not the report should be filed. A medication error occurred thus a report should be submitted.

 

[PharmDstudent]

This is an interesting discussion. I always wondered where the liability lies on RXs phoned in. Half the time you are talking to some person who cant even pronounce the drug ("simvastin" never fails) or who cant read the MDs writing.

IMO pharmacists are pretty much screwed since the other person will always deny calling in something incorrectly.

That's why, if you have problems with phoned-in scripts, then you should verify them with the caller and then write that you did so on the script.

 

[DAW2]

at least email your district manager about it and ask what to do. you'll have a response in writing and if they say fill it out, then you have to

 

[Ackj]

Look at both scenarios:
1. The doctor miswrote/misspoke, it was filled as written, patient complains about wrong rx... you'd file a report.
2. Your partner mishears rx and fills it incorrectly... you'd file a report.

We do not know which scenario took place, however they both have the same outcome. File the report.

 

[pinkpillowzz]

what was the script? which med and what directions?