“I am a danger to the public,” one pharmacist wrote to a state pharmacy board.
Across the United States, pharmacists say medication errors have become more likely because of a push to do more with less.
nyti.ms/3b0VCug
Across the United States, pharmacists say medication errors have become more likely because of a push to do more with less.
nyti.ms/3b0VCug
Illinois: Instead of his prescribed eye drops, a Walgreens accidentally gave Edward Walker, 38, ear drops. He landed in the emergency room, his eyes swollen and burning after he put drops in them for 5 days.
Connecticut: A CVS mistakenly gave Alyssa Watrous, 17, blood pressure medication instead of her asthma pills. The mix-up left her with a pounding headache, nausea and dizziness.
Florida: Instead of her antidepressant, a Publix pharmacy in Florida accidentally gave Mary Scheuerman, 85, a powerful chemotherapy drug. She died about two weeks later.
In letters to state regulatory boards and in interviews with @egabler, pharmacists at companies like CVS, Rite Aid and Walgreens described understaffed and chaotic workplaces where they said it had become difficult to perform their jobs safely. nyti.ms/3b0VCug 
@egabler State boards and associations in at least 24 states have heard from distraught pharmacists, interviews and records show. nyti.ms/3b0VCug
@egabler The American Psychiatric Association is particularly concerned about CVS, America’s 8th-largest company, which it says routinely ignores doctors’ explicit instructions to dispense limited amounts of medication to mental health patients. nyti.ms/3b0VCug
@egabler The specifics and severity of errors are nearly impossible to tally. Many mistakes never become public because companies settle with victims or their families, often requiring a confidentiality agreement. nyti.ms/3b0VCug
@egabler Regulating the pharmacy chains — 5 rank among the nation’s 100 largest companies — has proved difficult for state pharmacy boards, which oversee the industry but sometimes allow company representatives to hold seats. nyti.ms/3b0VCug
@egabler Aside from creating potential conflicts of interest, the industry presence can stifle complaints.
“We are afraid to speak up and lose our jobs,” one pharmacist wrote anonymously last year in a survey by the Missouri Board of Pharmacy. “PLEASE HELP." nyti.ms/3b0VCug
“We are afraid to speak up and lose our jobs,” one pharmacist wrote anonymously last year in a survey by the Missouri Board of Pharmacy. “PLEASE HELP." nyti.ms/3b0VCug
