Demotivational Hump Day... Counting Trays

The Fruits of Being Overworked and Understaffed

Recently I received a call from a hospital wanting to cancel a prescription they faxed in. And rightly so... it was written for Levaquin 750mg # 30, one tablet by mouth three times daily.

The actual script was to be supposed to be ONE daily for 10 days. The prescriber at the hospital screwed up and someone caught it over there.

Fortunately the medication wasn't dispensed yet. I went to the will call and sure enough, there it was filled and ready for pick up. It wasn't filled by me or Mickey. It was filled by a floater tech and floater pharmacist, probably during an incredibly busy time when things like this can slip by. 

Even with our long chain of safeguards, every now and then a huge mistake slips right on through. When a pharmacy is understaffed and the staff is overworked, THAT is when bad things happen. Goofmart corporate doesn't give a damn. They expect us to just deal with it and be perfect.

I've made mistakes over the years, none of which has been anything that's been a big deal. With almost all mistakes it's been caught before it ever gets in the hands of the patient. The other situations didn't cause anything even remotely serious.

But I wonder, will someday a perfect storm of events take place that causes harm to a patient? Will I be the last link in the chain of protection for the patient that fails? Will I be the reason someone gets hurt?

And that keeps me up at night.

Don't Despair

The Crazy RxMan is indisposed today.

Stay tuned.

November Fun with or without Sun