Showing posts with label Criminalization of Medication Errors; Mistakes by Pharmacists. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Criminalization of Medication Errors; Mistakes by Pharmacists. Show all posts

Sunday, January 27, 2013

Repost:Criminalization of Medication Errors; Mistakes by Pharmacists


The following article appears at http://www.uspharmacist.com/content/c/16572/

Jesse C. Vivian, BS Pharm, JD
Professor, Department of Pharmacy Practice
College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences
Wayne State University

Detroit, Michigan


11/19/2009

US Pharm. 2009;34(11):66-68. 
Here is a sobering thought. A pharmacist makes a mistake. The error results in the death of a patient, and the pharmacist is charged with negligent homicide. He is found guilty of involuntary manslaughter and faces up to 5 years in prison and a maximum fine of $10,000. Of course, his pharmacist license is revoked and chances are he will never work in the profession again. His crime? He did not check the accuracy of calculations used by a pharmacy technician under his charge to compound the concentration of sodium chloride in a prescription for a cancer chemotherapy solution.
Negligent? Yes. Accountability and responsibility? Yes and Yes. Malpractice? Yes. Loss of license? Yes. Guilty? Yes. But a crime? Prison term? For a mistake, albeit a mistake with a worst-case outcome? That is tough medicine to swallow. More important, how is justice served by putting this pharmacist in jail? The message to pharmacists and perhaps all other health care practitioners—watch out. There may be prosecutors out there just itching to put you away.