An elderly patient who was barely literate and wheelchair bound was sent the wrong medication from the mail-order pharmacy and died.

As the family tries to sue, per this article the judge ruled that, "In this matter, the defendant raised an argument that the decedent had caused her injuries by her ingestion of the incorrect medication, which was intended for someone else. The medication bottles were clearly labeled with the name of a different patient. By overlooking that fact, the patient contributed to her own injury."

When medications are stolen, lost, delayed, degraded due to inappropriate temperature storage, the mail-order pharmacies will often place the sole blame the patient. I argue that this patient would be here today if the mail-order pharmacy wouldn't have sent the wrong medication.

Mail-order pharmacy is very loosely regulated. Any brick and mortar store would be heavily fined and would be sued.

Pharmacy is more than putting medications in a bag, placing the bag in a hot or freezing truck, a mailman leaving the package on a doorstep, a pharmacy only counseling the patient with a pamphlet, and automatically refilling prescriptions. 

Many local pharmacies hand deliver for free in temperature controlled vehicles. Patients with chronic conditions or who are elderly need a personal relationship with their trusted pharmacists and pharmacy staff. The value of this relationship must not be taken for granted.

The pharmacy staff must be more involved, not less involved when life-dependent medications are being handled. We need pharmacists or pharmacy staff who will counsel  patients when they are home-bound. As many are forced to mail-order pharmacy, we must not leave patients who are elderly or with chronic conditions behind or risking their lives for the profits of a billion dollar industry.

Thank you for your support! 

Email or Share Your Story loretta@uniteforsafemeds.com

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