Transferring Prescriptions Between Pharmacies Requires Caution
Most prescriptions can be transferred between pharmacies in the United States. You may need to do this for several reasons.
Learn MorePlease, Please, Open the Bag!
One of the most frequent errors in the pharmacy is giving a correctly filled prescription medicine to the wrong customer. Recently, we received another report of this type of error. A parent of a 16-year-old teen picked up what was supposed to be an antibiotic to treat his acne, minocycline. The next month, when looking at the prescription label to call in a refill of the medicine, the teen’s mother realized the prescription medicine was for a different person, and the medicine dispensed was not minocycline. Instead, Xarelto (rivaroxaban), a medicine used to prevent blood clots after surgery or in people at risk of having a stroke, was listed on the label. Fortunately, the teen was not injured. However, the risk of bleeding from taking Xarelto in error for a month is certainly significant.
Learn MorePoison Look-Alikes
The New Jersey Poison Information and Education System issued an alert about poisonings occurring when torch lamp oil (Tiki lamp oil) was mistaken for apple juice. In several unrelated incidents, individuals became critically ill, and one person died, after accidentally ingesting the oil. Lamp oils are particularly hazardous.
Learn MoreDon’t Mistake an EpiPen Training Pen for the Real Thing
If you keep an EpiPen (epinephrine) on hand to treat a severe allergic reaction, you need to know about a potentially dangerous mix-up between the actual EpiPen pen and a similar-looking training pen.
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