Portage, Michigan – A local woman from Kalamazoo County shared her medication mix-up story with Newschannel 3, saying she picked up a wrong prescription at a pharmacy two times in a row.
A reporter from Newschannel 3 spoke with the pharmacist and the Kalamazoo woman on Wednesday, trying to identify which party was responsible for the error that occurred. The local woman named Michelle Johnson was about to take her pill, but noticed the pill looked unusual. Johnson added she almost took a heart medication meant for another woman, which could have caused complications with her own condition.
Johnson told her medication mix-up story to Newschannel 3, saying that over the weekend she picked up her regular prescription from her pharmacy, but discovered the bottle has another name on it. She also noticed the bottle was a bit bigger than the usual. The Shaver Road Wal-Mart pharmacist had given her heart medicine for a 78-year old woman.
Although the party responsible was yet to be determined, many people, including the woman believe that such issue needs an urgent care and to be addressed immediately. Johnson pointed out that the medicine she brought home was nowhere close to her daily pills, and that the person on the prescription had no idea Johnson had almost all her personal information.
Michael Michutka, a pharmacist said people have the tendency to become complacent, urging patients to be active and double-check their medication before leaving a drugstore or pharmacy. He emphasized that Johnson did the right thing, checking on her pills before taking it in. What Johnson did was a sort of an urgent care near me in preventing mistakes concerning medicine that could lead to complications. This will also avoid a quick visit to an urgent care clinic just because of taking the wrong medication.
Michutka said their agency fills between 250 and 400 prescriptions daily that could most likely lead between 4 and 8 errors, although there is a 99% accuracy rate. Most of the errors include labeling errors and incorrect does, but not the wrong pills. He also pointed out that there is a checking system used in place both before and during the pickup.
The medication mix-up story of Johnson was still fortunate as she was able to catch the error. Earlier this year, she also picked up wrong medications from similar pharmacy, but this time the bottle had her name on it.
Visit to urgent care clinics was totally prevented as she was able to double check her daily pills before taking it in, and getting away from a potentially life-threatening situation. Johnson said her medication mix-up story is a wake-up call for all patients.
