Question of the Day February 28, 2014 How many medication errors relating to animals go unnoticed, unreported, or ignored? Read this person's story.

 

In December, my 4-year-old Labrador retriever was prescribed a medication to help with a condition related to her cancer. The pharmacist at a West Chester, Pa., Rite Aid mistakenly filled the medication at three times the prescribed dose, putting my dog’s life in danger. Fortunately, she recovered from the overdose after two nights at the emergency veterinarian.
Many states do not require pharmacies to report errors, and few do so voluntarily. While patients can report mistakes to state pharmacy boards, punishments are often light or nonexistent. In the absence of a legal judgment against it, a pharmacy is not required to reimburse a victim for damages incurred because of an error.
Even when a pharmacy does agree to pay for its mistake, it often requires the victim to agree to non-negotiable settlement terms. In my case, Rite Aid offered a settlement that included a clause forbidding me from ever talking about the incident. When the company rejected my request to remove the clause and refused to pay the veterinary bill without my agreement to it, I effectively paid $866 for the right to tell my story here.

Read more: http://digitaljournal.com/life/health/op-ed-victims-of-pharmacy-mistakes-have-little-recourse/article/373083#ixzz2uQv06Nhh