Republished September 9, 2024
Do you carefully read the label on your prescription bottle? Do you look at the tablets before you take a dose of a new or refilled prescription medicine? Well, a 95-year-old woman did, and it helped to prevent a potentially serious mistake. Her doctor had recently increased the dose of her thyroid medicine. When she needed a refill, a staff person at her doctor's office mistakenly told the pharmacist to dispense the lower dose she had taken previously.
When the woman got home, she looked at the prescription label on the bottle and noticed the error. Fortunately, she remembered that she needed to take the higher dose. She immediately called the pharmacist to tell her about the error. Always look at your medicines and read the label on the bottle before you take the medicine. It would be best to look at the label and open up the bottle of medicine before you even leave the pharmacy. If the medicine or directions are not what you expect, tell your pharmacist right away.
