pharmacy liability?

[JillianKelly]

What is the name of your state?Indiana
I am needing to know what the job of a pharmacist is. I do not necissarily want to take legal action but I want to know who is at fault. Let me start by saying a friend of mine is Bi-polar. She has been taking lithium for6 years and getting it filled at the same pharmacy the whole time. The prescription is active on a yearly basis(12 refills before going back to doctor). So it would be considered active in the pharmacy files. Well, a dentist prescribed 600mg ibuprofen. There were no papers saying this would cause reaction. Well, my friend has gotten sicker and sicker for the week taking these pills. And I took it upon myself to do some research ans found out that these two drugs cause severe reactions and cause lithium levels in the body to increase to dangerous levels. My question is should the pharmacy computer system have come up as a red flag when filling this and found a replacement drug? When she contacted the store the pharmacist shook it off and simply said he would add it to her file. Well, Glad she caught it before she died!!! Was this neglegence on the pharmacists part? Who's job is it to compare drug interactions of this sort? Lithium is a way of her life. And she was under the impression that the files of the pharmacy would "red flag" anything harmful to her current prescriptions. Is this a common problem? Are we expecting too much from our well schooled pharmacist? Thank you!

 

[BelizeBreeze]

It's a matter of comparitative negligence. Your friend is first and foremost holding part of the fault for not informing the dentist of her lithium intake.

Secondly, the pharmacist MAY shoulder some of the fault depending on a lot of factors, including the communications between the pharmicist and the patient.

However, no one can give you a correct answer simply because medical malpractice requires a plethera of facts and determinations not possible on an internet forum.

The ONLY valid suggestion is to have your friend speak with a medical malpractice attorney for any course of action.

 

[rmet4nzkx]

This is a good question. Normally the modern computerized pharmacy will flag most common reactions, this one is not so common and they should have only been taking the medication for a short while. Did your friend consult with the pharmacist when they filled the script? When someone only is supervised once a year that can lead to problems and you friend should always inform their psychiatrist when they add any Rx. So it is partially your friend's problem.

 

[BelizeBreeze]

This is a good question. Normally the modern computerized pharmacy will flag most common reactions, this one is not so common and they should have only been taking the medication for a short while. Did your friend consult with the pharmacist when they filled the script? When someone only is supervised once a year that can lead to problems and you friend should always inform their psychiatrist when they add any Rx. So it is partially your friend's problem.

I'm changing my answer. I HATE having someone agree.

 

[JillianKelly]

update and clarity

Well, This is kinda what we discussed and thought too. We were just looking at precautions for the future. It really just seemed so simple, ibuprofen is so common! Just to clarify, The dentist is fully aware of all her meds- (she also takes ritalin(sp?) and wellbutrin.) The reason it caused me to wonder for her was because I have personally had a pharmacy stop and call my DR. and ask to change or sub one pill for another due to interactions I wouldn't have been aware of otherwise! And I talked to her earlier in the day and she said that she was not given paperwork detailing interactions on the pain med. She was going throughthe lithium stuff and found nothing specific on ibuprofen. So we wouldn't have known if it wasn't for the computer comparison done at home. She thought she was just REALLY sick or losing her mind, one. Like I said no legal action was discussed but we were wondering how often this could happen to anyone! This was really scary. And as far as the psych visits for the past 10 years she has gone only once every 6 months. Appearently this is normal procedure unless you are in the early stages of the conditions. Thanks for any info you have. Oh, and she was on the pain medicine for 8 days.

 

[rmet4nzkx]

I'm changing my answer. I HATE having someone agree.

We were typing at the same time, you type faster Shall we dub you, Speede Breeze?

 

[ablessin]

It's the patient's responsibility to inform all care providers of all medications that they are currently on.
The pharmacy should (IF she fills all meds at the same place) have that list, however, as stated above, the interaction list is not 100%.
Things like this happen often enough and it is scary.

There probably isn't much that you can personally do to ensure it doesn't happen to others.... all I can say is when you get a new prescription, do your homework....... ask the pharmacist if a drug interaction is possible or not - if he doesn't know, INSIST that he check into it. Or - you can also call your insurance carrier. They may be able to assist as well.

 

[BelizeBreeze]

We were typing at the same time, you type faster Shall we dub you, Speede Breeze?

Sorry, that's what my ex calls me

 

[rmet4nzkx]

Sorry, that's what my ex calls me

Das schmerzt mein Herz!