Medication can save or greatly improve a person’s life. However, that same medication can be dangerous if taken incorrectly, which can sometimes happen if a Texas pharmacy dispenses the wrong medicine or wrong dosage of a medicine. Fortunately, technology exists that can stop this from happening and help make patients safer. One out-of-state pharmacy says that it relies on a high-tech pill counter to reduce medication errors with positive results.
A pill counter to count on
The pharmacy uses a pill counter that can recognize medication a pharmacist puts into it and count it. The pharmacist scans the pill bottle, which has information regarding the type of medication as well as the dosage strength and number. If the pharmacist puts the incorrect medication into the pill counter, the technology won’t even count the medication and will also tell the pharmacist about the error.
This pharmacy in particular doesn’t have an estimate on how many errors it may have avoided, though they assure that any errors receive proper follow-up with patients. One study suggests that 1.5 million medication errors happen in the United States every year, so it is reasonable to assume that technology like this could safe a significant number of lives. Representatives for the pharmacy say they don’t want any reoccurrence of errors if one does happen, so they make sure to formulate a plan with any affected patients.
A medication error may be deadly
Though technology like this is promising, medication errors can still occur for many reasons. Those here in Texas who have been harmed by this type of mistake may want to file a medical malpractice claim against any responsible parties. An attorney with extensive experience in this area of the law may be a family’s best chance at obtaining justice for negligence.