My pharmacy (Walgreens) put the wrong prescription label on my prescription.

I got the right pills, but the label was wrong, it was for another medication.

Luckily in my case it's not a big deal, but that is a massive fuck up. My nurse friends are amazed. This could kill a person, and also be a fire-able offense. I've been taking these for a while so I knew right away, but imagine if you just started on some medication, and the label said to take three a day, but that's the wrong label, and taking three of your pills a day could kill you.

Why not sue? You could make a lot of money off some schmuck's carelessness.

A symptom of the profit-first mentality of companies like Walgreens and CVS

Yeah in pharmacy parlance we call this misbranding. The checking pharmacist probably neglected to open up the vial and verify that the pills in there are what's on the label. I don't do retail pharmacy but my understanding is that during the checking phase, the pharmacist should be able to see on his/her screen the correct pill/tablet depending on the stock bottle used to fill the prescription.

Yeah, I'm pretty sure that's a big deal.

Another medication like a different one but still your info, or someone else's prescription entirely?

as tough as this sounds, you should probably get this person in trouble. fired, even. even though it worked out this time, it is absolutely a matter of life and death.

Go in, talk to the pharmacist. Avoid store management.

Around me, Walgreens, CVS, virtually every pharmacy is struggling with staffing issues, and I imagine it's like that in a lot of places.

COVID burnt so many out, and then just normal corporate bullshit burnt out the rest. They tend to have 1 person to do the work of 3 at their best times, let alone during busy hours. Speak with the pharmacist, let them know what happened.

That way they can look into it and see if it was a one off mistake, or if they or one of the techs are just really messing up, and fix it.

If you go to management, it's just going to be a shitshow for them and customers relying on them as management steps in to try and micromanage what they dont understand.

Medussa posted...

as tough as this sounds, you should probably get this person in trouble. fired, even. even though it worked out this time, it is absolutely a matter of life and death.

Same, also do this for any time you get the wrong food item in fast food.

Medussa posted...

as tough as this sounds, you should probably get this person in trouble. fired, even. even though it worked out this time, it is absolutely a matter of life and death.

It really depends on how often this happens and other extenuating circumstances. Everyone makes mistakes and sometimes they somehow get through every step of verification. Techs and pharmacists are already getting fucked over daily at retail stores. "Literally any mistake and you're fired!" will not improve things. TC should notify the pharmacy, get it resolved, and move on with their life. Let it be handled internally.

I do know we fired someone at our pharmacy because they literally kept pouring pills back into other medication bottles somehow. Thankfully never left the pharmacy like that. She wasn't overworked or anything, just woefully incompetent.

hockeybub89 posted...

It really depends on how often this happens and other extenuating circumstances. Everyone makes mistakes and sometimes they somehow get through every step of verification. Techs and pharmacists are already getting fucked over daily at retail stores. "Literally any mistake and you're fired!" will not improve things.

I do know we fired someone at our pharmacy because they literally kept pouring pills back into other medication bottles somehow. Thankfully never left the pharmacy like that. She wasn't overworked or anything, just woefully incompetent.

i will bow to your expertise, but i'm not going to lie, that's kinda terrifying. i'm not necessarily saying one mistake should be fireable, but the staff can't do everything possible to minimize those mistakes if they don't get reported.

hockeybub89 posted...

TC should notify the pharmacy, get it resolved, and move on with their life. Let it be handled internally.

ok, i admit i didn't word that very well, but this is basically what i was trying to suggest.

Medussa posted...

i will bow to your expertise, but i'm not going to lie, that's kinda terrifying. i'm not necessarily saying one mistake should be fireable, but the staff can't do everything possible to minimize those mistakes if they don't get reported.

ok, i admit i didn't word that very well, but this is basically what i was trying to suggest.

Like I said, it all depends. TC's is kind of a worse one, but errors happen more than people think. They still need to be fixed and limited, like you said.

imo you should report it because it could be happening to other patients/customers in that same shift.

Just hope it was an honest accident that Walgreens can understand and not murder the employee.

Fire first, ask questions later.

America

As others have stated, the profession of pharmacy has been struggling with a lot lately. Corporate pharmacies clamping down on their pharmacists, expecting them to do more and more with no change in pay with a pathetically understaffed pharmacy at speeds that cannot be considered safe by any means, insurance companies and PBMs doing everything they can to either underpay the pharmacies they don't own or push them elsewhere, a pharmacy organization that's more interested in being bought out by these corporations and companies instead of fighting for pharmacists, and a public that either doesn't know or doesn't care what goes on in a pharmacy.

I'm not saying you getting a mislabeled prescription should be handwaved away TC. That employee made a mistake and I assure you that it is the last thing they wanted to do to you or anyone else they serve. But if this pharmacy you go to is a victim of understaffing and other prevelent pharmacy issues these days, I would suggest directing your frustration, anger, or whatever it is towards the corporation for not providing adequate staffing/tools for that location rather than trying to dump the blame solely on the pharmacist who made the mistake.

Sir, this is an Arby's