Target - Potential Preseption Error

Posted by unhappy999 on 2012-09-29:

I'm not sure why this is a complaint. You asked that they check your pills which they did and everything was fine. It would have been nice if they explained the different color pills to you without you having to ask but I think they handled your questions appropriately.

Posted by FoDaddy19 on 2012-09-29:

"This story could have a different ending, if I wasn't a nurse, and were a lay person, or an eldelderly person instead."

Not really, the pills were for the correct medication. The outcome in this particular incident would've been exactly the same.

Posted by trmn8r on 2012-09-30:

I'm surprised that you picked the pills up two days in the future, right off the top.

I don't see what the complaint is here - you were given the correct medication. I believe you are suggesting that there be a policy that the pills in an Rx have to all match. I'd call this an informative.

Posted by JISCal2 on 2012-09-30:

I see a complaint here. I have been in the pharmacy business for over 20 years. Pravastatin is a generic medication used for cholesterol and it is possible that there are two different manufacturers. That said, it is NOT good practice to mix two different manufacturer pills in the same prescription bottle. It creates questions and confusion. The NDC of the pill dispensed is to match the NDC of the drug used for billing, tracking, and drug recall purposes. Bottom line is this pharmacy should not have done this. It is not safe. It is my opinion the person who wrote this complaint should follow up with the Target corporate office and the Pharmacy Board of his/her state.

Posted by Billy Swith on 2012-09-30:

When this has happened at my pharmacy they will pack the different colored pills in separate containers, mark the manufacturers on the containers and let me know that the pills are the same medication, but they are different colors. They have also let me know which color pills are the newer batch so I can expect to see the new color the next time I get a refill.

Posted by Buddy01 on 2012-09-30:

@trmn8r, Actually it is a non-existent date.

Posted by Nohandle on 2012-09-30:

Gratefully I require few drugs but recall a few years back having a script refilled. I didn't immediately open the bag or the container inside. When I did the pills were nothing like I had used but the label was for the actual drug. I immediately called the pharmacy. It seems the generic was substituted yet no mention of that on the receipt or on the container.

That particular pharmacy now clearly states on the label the actual pills in the container and that it's a generic for whatever the script was for. Had I been a first time user of that drug would not have known. Mistakes happen but your health is in the balance here. I blame the pharmacy on this one not the OP.

Don't sub a drug (without notice) with a generic and don't put different colored pills into the same container and label them as a particular drug.

Posted by Nohandle on 2012-09-30:

In addition, JISCal2 is absolutely correct. How on earth can a faulty batch of drugs be traced back if a generic was used rather than what was called for? In my case mentioned earlier up my receipt and bottle showed the actual drug as being in the bottle, not a generic. Somewhat hard to trace that..right?

Posted by Anonymous on 2012-09-30:

I see this as a complaint. If my pills looked different, I would speak up. The manufacturer of one of the prescriptions I take changed the color and the size of the pills. The pharmacist let me know that they looked different. And she alerted me that they now look like one of the other pills I take and to be careful not to mix them up. I take one pill every day of one medication, and I take the other one once a week. It could be deadly had I not noticed the pills had changed.

Posted by Anna Molly on 2012-10-01:

I just got a prescription filled at Rite Aid. There was a note on my paperwork that stated "2 different tablet markings and sizes, same exact med". They also separated them by cotton, inside the same bottle..one on the bottom the others on top. I think that was a great idea, and it left no question or concern in my mind.

Too bad Target doesn't follow a similar policy.