Toolsview all

David Stanley Ford

A good dose of precaution can help avoid drug harm, says Yukon family
IN CASE AN ERROR IS PRINTED ON YOUR PRESCRIPTION ...

BY ANN KELLEY    Comments Comment on this article10
Published: January 23, 2009

YUKON — Mindy Koenig was nearly in tears, thinking about what could have happened to her baby if she had followed the directions on her daughter’s prescription bottle.


The wrong dosage was printed on a prescription for 6-month-old Story Koenig, of Yukon, shown with her father, Chris Koenig. PHOTO BY ANN KELLEY, THE OKLAHOMAN

Multimedia

More Info

AT A GLANCE
HOW YOU CAN GET HELP


• State officials said consumers can protect themselves by going over their prescriptions with a physician and double-checking prescription bottles with pharmacists.


• To file a complaint with the state Pharmacy Board or to find disciplinary actions against pharmacies, go to www.ok.gov/OSBP/index.html

Koenig said her 6-month-old, Story, was prescribed Albuterol for a respiratory virus with specific instructions from her doctor to give the baby a 1.5 cc dosage. The prescription was filled Tuesday at a CVS pharmacy in Yukon, but on the bottle were misprinted instructions to give the child one and one-half teaspoons – about five times more than the right dosage.

CVS apologized to the family and offered to refund the $8 for the cost of the medicine.

Koenig said the medicine was nearly at her baby’s lips when her husband, Chris Koenig, stopped her.

Chris Koenig said Story’s pediatrician had given him a syringe and demonstrated the exact amount to use. Otherwise, the dosage may have gone unnoticed.

He said he researched the drug on the Internet and found that an overdose can cause nausea, convulsions, rapid heart rate and even death.

What can be done?
John Foust, executive director for the state Pharmacy Board, said there is no standard state procedure that pharmacists must go by to ensure prescriptions are properly filled. Each business operates under its own policy, although most have fairly failsafe methods.

"Pharmacists don’t want to make mistakes, and when they do, they’re usually the first person to make sure it doesn’t happen again,” Foust said.

Foust said Oklahomans who have an issue with a pharmacy can file a report with the Pharmacy Board . The board has the authority to issue fines up to $1,000 for each infraction and revoke or suspend a pharmacy’s license.

Last year, there were 53 board actions taken against businesses and pharmacists.

There has been no history of disciplinary action against the Yukon CVS pharmacy, Foust said.

Toolsview all

David Stanley Ford



Need Affordable Health Care?
Get Affordable Health Insurance Quotes Online - Plans from $30 / Month
USInsuranceOnline.com
Obama Gives $31 Billion for Student Aid
Get Your Degree Now. Financial Aid & Scholarships are available.
www.ClassesUSA.com

Leave a Comment

Something to say about this topic? Submit a Letter to the Editor online

Thank you for joining our conversations on newsok. We encourage your discussions but ask that you stay within the bounds of our terms and conditions. Please help us by reporting comments that violate these guidelines. To review our rules of engagement, go to Commenting and posting policy.


Log in below or sign up (it's free).





I've never had any issues with dosage but I did get someone else's prescription one time. It's always better to be clear with your doc on what meds he wants you on, dosage, frequency, etc. before you walk out of the doctor's office. If the pharmacy does make an error it's a heck of a lot easier to catch if you have good info going in.
Big Daddy, Yukon - Jan 24, 2009 at 10:09 am
I've taken albuterol before...it is good for clearing breathing problems in the lungs during illness. even a normal dose seems to have weird side-affets.
Burt, I would share your story with the FDA, but then I'm not sure they regulate substances at all. False positives are common in drug tests, so I wouldn't blame MonaVie without good reason. She might have cleared up even while continuing to take MonaVie.
Boomer, Washington - Jan 23, 2009 at 4:41 pm
By the way, I do not know why this happens, but if you are taking the supplement MonaVie, you need to stop taking it about 2 to 3 weeks prior to taking a drug test. It also has been linked to seizures in women. I was called by a friend to go up to a local hospital's ER. She had just had a seizure. With no history of having them they started looking for answers. Then came the even worse news. The doctor cleared the room and only her family was there. Then they let us back in. The doctor told the family the drug tests came back and she was showing positive for PCP. They released her and had her go through all her meds and supplements. MonaVie was the only supplement that was new in her life. She stopped taking it and she later tested clear for drugs.
burt, edmond - Jan 23, 2009 at 12:15 pm
Report as inappropriate or
Ignore burt
Remember the Hispanic guy that killed his wife because he had a prescription with English instructions? It changed the way they now print the instructions on the bottle even though Hispanics should ask for them to print it in their own language. The instructions were simple and to the point. It said, "Take one pill once per day." Now that seems clear to me. I take one pill only one time in a day. He gave his wife 11 pills per day. So the FDA outlawed the use of the word once because in Spanish it means 11. Stupid if you ask me but welcome to the good ole' USA.
burt, edmond - Jan 23, 2009 at 11:55 am
Report as inappropriate or
Ignore burt
If a human is involved, you have to factor in the potential for error. We will always make errors. Linda/OKC is correct in her reference to the training of physicians, in regard to prescriptions, although the training is usally thorough. The Pharmacist is without a doubt the go to person when seeking knowledge about the medicines prescribed by your Physician. The tract record for pharmacists vs physicians is superior concerning a cleaner slate when it comes to safety. However, look at what Story's Pediatrician did for the parents; took the time to make sure the dose was understood. Without imparting that knowledge, sad consequences could have resulted. Thank God little Story is OK! I agree with Carrie/Choctaw. The offer of an $8.00 refund is ludricous, a slap in the face, and an insult. Surely this was offered by a clerk/tech following SOP. If this offer was made by the Pharmacist, then their uncaring attitude and demeanor should result in severe disciplinary action.
alan, oklahoma city - Jan 23, 2009 at 8:19 am
Report as inappropriate or
Ignore alan
We've had the exact opposite happen with us. The pharmacist at a Eckards pharmacy caught a lethal dose of the drug that was prescribed. At the time, our daughter was a newborn (1991). He came to us and asked for our regular doctors name. They then called him and got him to change the dose. The pediatrician had written the wrong dosage. We found out that same pediatrician had written 2 other scripts that day for wrong amounts. By our next visit to our doctor, we found out she had been fired and was up to have her license revoked. Most doctors only have 3-6 hrs of drug training. Scary thought. So not all CVS or pharmacists are bad. It is part of their responsibility to question and verify dosages.
Linda, Oklahoma City - Jan 23, 2009 at 7:25 am
$8.00 for the cost of the medicine!!! ARE YOU KIDDING ME!!! Thats all that babies life is worth to them!?! I would never use that store again. They deserve to be punished somehow. That refund crap is a joke!!!
Carrie, Choctaw - Jan 23, 2009 at 7:21 am
Things never change. My daughter had the almost the exact same thing happen 10 years ago when the CVS stores were still Eckards. Her medication was supposed to be 1 teaspoon and they wrote one tablespoon on the bottle. Nothing happened then. Nothing will happen now.
michael, mustang - Jan 23, 2009 at 5:30 am

    News Photo Galleriesview all