Patients Impacted by Dispensing Errors: Callous Response From Pharmacists
When patients report dispensing errors to ISMP, they are usually
more upset about the response they received when contacting the
pharmacist or pharmacy manager than the actual error itself. All too
often, consumers tell ISMP that pharmacy staff have responded in a
callous manner when confronted with the possibility of a dispensing
error, demonstrating a lack of empathy and concern for the adverse
effects the patient might have experienced. While pharmacy staff may
want to be more responsive to patients who report errors, they are
often following corporate policies that are focused on legal concerns.
As patients are continually encouraged to be active participants in
their health care, they want and deserve honest disclosure of errors,
and knowledge that there is an action plan to reduce the risk of it
happening again.
Filed under: General Problems
In 23 years the number of dispensing errors that I’ve made that I’m aware of can be counted on one hand. In every case I felt terrible about it. Thank the Lord no one was injured. My concern was always for the welfare of the patient and the legalities were secondary. That’s how it has to be. People are always more important than money in my economy.