How Your Cell Phone Number and Email Address Can Help Keep You Safe
A patient was accidentally given another patient’s medications at a pharmacy. Later, when a pharmacist realized the mistake, he attempted to reach the patient by phone. However, the patient did not answer. The pharmacist kept trying but did not get through until later that evening. By that time, the patient had already taken another patient’s CELLCEPT (mycophenolate mofetil), a drug that lowers your immunity (it's used in transplant patients to prevent rejection), instead of her new prescription for ZESTRIL (lisinopril) to treat hypertension.
Learn MoreMix-ups between five different inhalers that all include “Ellipta” as part of their brand names
The name of a unique inhaler device included in five different brand name medicines has led to multiple mix-ups, not only by consumers but by doctors, pharmacists, and nurses as well. In 2013, the global drug company, GlaxoSmithKline, introduced Ellipta, a new type of inhaler device. It is circular in shape, about the size of a hockey puck, and can combine several different medicines together. The company has packaged combinations of one, two, or three of the medicines listed below using this unique inhaler device:
Learn MoreBrintellix and Brilinta mix-ups
Brintellix and Brilinta mix-ups. An elderly woman required hospitalization when the pharmacy confused Brintellix and Brilinta and gave her the wrong medicine. Brintellix (vortioxetine) is a medicine used to treat depression. Brilinta (ticagrelor) is a medicine that helps to prevent clots in patients with certain heart diseases. The woman was given a prescription for Brilinta 90 mg to take twice a day. But the pharmacy staff misread the medicine label on the bottle that was selected from the shelf and filled the prescription with Brintellix 10 mg. The medicine bottles for Brilinta and Brintellix were on the same shelf, side-by-side, and the wrong bottle was picked up.
Learn More