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Rite Aid - Beware! Check Your Medicine Before Taking
Prescription Drug Error - Complaint
Review by durhamzoo on 2012-03-31
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FRESNO, CALIFORNIA -- I had 2 prescriptions refilled at the Rite Aid on Cedar Ave in Fresno. One for Lovastatin (cholesterol) & the other was Lisinopril (hypertension). The next morning when I opened the bottles I noticed the pills appeared to be exactly the same in each bottle. I took them back to the pharmacy & informed them that they had made a mistake & had given me 2 prescriptions of the same medication. The gentleman working in the pharmacy examined the tablets from each bottle & assured me that no mistake had been made & the tablets were indeed different from one another.
Over the next week I took both prescription medications as prescribed. I began having terrible pain, tingling, burning & swelling in my left arm & neck area, and a few days later my feet & ankles were swollen & painful, too. I couldn't sleep without elevating my arm. The pain was unbearable & I thought perhaps I was having heart problems. My wife still suspected the prescriptions so I dumped both bottles of tablets out & examined them. I found that the Lisinopril bottle had only 8 Lisinopril tablets and all the rest were Lovastatin!
We immediately called the pharmacy & again explained their error. The pharmacy clerk told us again that no mistake had been made and it would have been impossible for them to make a mistake like this. Our concern fell on deaf ears with a complete denial of fault! I called my personal physician & he had me come in. He wrote another prescription for Linisopril which I filled at a different pharmacy, and within just a day or so the burning & pain began to lessen.
I HAD been taking double doses of Lovastatin all along! Rite Aid had given me Lovastatin in my Lisinopril bottle. My concern with this pharmacy was not that they had made a mistake, but their absolute refusal to look into it and accept responsibility for it. Needless to say, I filed a complaint with the State of California Pharmacy Board, mailing them photos of the tablets.
Over the next week I took both prescription medications as prescribed. I began having terrible pain, tingling, burning & swelling in my left arm & neck area, and a few days later my feet & ankles were swollen & painful, too. I couldn't sleep without elevating my arm. The pain was unbearable & I thought perhaps I was having heart problems. My wife still suspected the prescriptions so I dumped both bottles of tablets out & examined them. I found that the Lisinopril bottle had only 8 Lisinopril tablets and all the rest were Lovastatin!
We immediately called the pharmacy & again explained their error. The pharmacy clerk told us again that no mistake had been made and it would have been impossible for them to make a mistake like this. Our concern fell on deaf ears with a complete denial of fault! I called my personal physician & he had me come in. He wrote another prescription for Linisopril which I filled at a different pharmacy, and within just a day or so the burning & pain began to lessen.
I HAD been taking double doses of Lovastatin all along! Rite Aid had given me Lovastatin in my Lisinopril bottle. My concern with this pharmacy was not that they had made a mistake, but their absolute refusal to look into it and accept responsibility for it. Needless to say, I filed a complaint with the State of California Pharmacy Board, mailing them photos of the tablets.
Comments:
Posted by littleshorty on 2012-03-31:
It's always a good idea to look over your meds before taking them. The bottle and the little pamphlet you get with your prescription should tell you what the pills look like. Good for you for switching pharmacies. Hope you're feeling better now.
Posted by whythelongfaces on 2012-05-14:
As they are human, they are always subject to making as mistake, regardless of all the security and safety measures involved in filling. You should always check your meds before you leave and ask any questions since once you leave with the drug it becomes yours.
In our pharmacy, we scan the bottle of the desired medication, it will either accept the scan (on a match) or deny it (on a mismatch). Then we verify # of pills, count, bottle, label, and pass to pharmacist who again verifies the drug, quantity, and labeling.
Some drugs (generic)have different manufacturers of the same drug and may look similar to others, but if they are the same they need to be corrected at verification.
In our pharmacy, we scan the bottle of the desired medication, it will either accept the scan (on a match) or deny it (on a mismatch). Then we verify # of pills, count, bottle, label, and pass to pharmacist who again verifies the drug, quantity, and labeling.
Some drugs (generic)have different manufacturers of the same drug and may look similar to others, but if they are the same they need to be corrected at verification.
Posted by whythelongfaces on 2012-05-14:
Oh, and what MG were they? They both come in the blue packs...so wondering why/how you got the loose pills.
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