One of the most frequent errors in the pharmacy is giving a correctly filled prescription medicine to the wrong customer. Recently, we received another report of this type of error. A parent of a 16-year-old teen picked up what was supposed to be an antibiotic to treat his acne, minocycline. The next month, when looking at the prescription label to call in a refill of the medicine, the teen’s mother realized the prescription medicine was for a different person, and the medicine dispensed was not minocycline. Instead, Xarelto (rivaroxaban), a medicine used to prevent blood clots after surgery or in people at risk of having a stroke, was listed on the label. Fortunately, the teen was not injured. However, the risk of bleeding from taking Xarelto in error for a month is certainly significant.
Read Safety ArticlePeople who take medicines to treat chronic diseases, such as high blood pressure, asthma, or diabetes, need to fill their prescriptions regularly. Many pharmacies allow people to sign up for an automatic refill service so they don't run out of their medicines because they forget to call for refills. Once you sign up for this service, all your prescriptions for ongoing medicines are automatically refilled until there are no more refills left on the prescription. Each month, the pharmacy then notifies you when they are ready to be picked up.
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