Woman peels back labels on medication to find someone else's prescriptions

[SLM]

Woman peels back labels on medication to find someone else's prescriptions

CTV Toronto
Published Friday, March 6, 2015 6:45PM EST
Last Updated Friday, March 6, 2015 7:06PM EST
A Toronto woman says she peeled back the labels on her medication bottles and found other people’s prescriptions behind them.
Sarah Attwell says she noticed the labels were very thick after picking up her five prescriptions from a local Shoppers Drug Mart.
"When I investigated and pulled the labels off, I noticed they’re all used and I have other people's names, doses, medications and doctors,” she says.
Attwell says she’s concerned about what “residuals” might be in the bottles.
She’s also concerned for her privacy and the privacy of other patients. The man behind the counter at her pharmacy refused to discuss the matter with CTV Toronto on Friday.
Shoppers Drug Mart’s head office, however, issued a statement Friday saying it is concerned about Attwell’s discovery.
"Our first priority is to ensure that any patient who may have had their personal health information compromised is notified as soon as possible,” the company said.
“We will also take swift corrective action to determine how this could have occurred and will reinforce our standards of practice to ensure that this never happens again.”
Attwell has taken action already. She has filed a complaint with both the Ontario Privacy Commission and the Ontario College of Pharmacists.
Trell Huether, a privacy commission spokesperson, said a file has been opened and they are looking into the complaint.
The Ontario College of Pharmacists said that, while it’s too early to know what happened, possible punishments range from limits on a practice to outright suspension.


Woman peels back labels on medication to find someone else's prescriptions | CTV News


Wow. Privacy is one thing but I'd be far more concerned about this reuse of prescription bottles and the possibility of mixed up medication! That can be freaking dangerous!

 

[damngrumpy]

A new meaning to the word recycling or a mistake

 

[Sal]

sURprize...you've won the medication grab bag of the week, hope you have a good trip

 

[SLM]

hope you have a good trip

Hopefully not to the Emergency Room! 8O

 

[Twila]

Heard a report recently on the radio concerning the errors and such that have occured recently at BC pharmacies. What made the report so significant to me was that both my mother and I had both experienced first hand pharmacy errors.

They gave me 50mg size pills for the regular 5mg pills I usually took. At 5mg it's used to treat tension headaches. At 50 mgs you are sedated for 24 hrs. When I called the pharmacy to tell them, they said to just cut the pills in quarters.

My mother was given someone else's medication. The pharmacist when about to hand over the medication asked is she lived in Saanich. The pharmacy was in saanich. Most customers would. They should have asked for her phone number or street address. If she had not noticed the label she may well have taken the prescription. My mom's a senior, widowed recently. The drugs could have killed her

 

[SLM]

Heard a report recently on the radio concerning the errors and such that have occured recently at BC pharmacies. What made the report so significant to me was that both my mother and I had both experienced first hand pharmacy errors.

They gave me 50mg size pills for the regular 5mg pills I usually took. At 5mg it's used to treat tension headaches. At 50 mgs you are sedated for 24 hrs. When I called the pharmacy to tell them, they said to just cut the pills in quarters.

My mother was given someone else's medication. The pharmacist when about to hand over the medication asked is she lived in Saanich. The pharmacy was in saanich. Most customers would. They should have asked for her phone number or street address. If she had not noticed the label she may well have taken the prescription. My mom's a senior, widowed recently. The drugs could have killed her

I hope you both now use a different pharmacy. 8O

 

[Sal]

don't the pharmacists usually own the Shopper, mine here down the street does

 

[SLM]

Yes it's a franchise.

 

[Twila]

I hope you both now use a different pharmacy. 8O

Actually, my mom is small town. She'll most likely check ever single prescription she gets from them and insist they request her telephone number or street address.

Thankfully I live in a city where the next pharmacy is literally a block over and changing causes no real or perceived hardships.

I just wish if they were going to make a mistake like that, that they'd at least give me a drug that I could have fun with. Like MDMA, or mushrooms or valium or even a couple morphine pills. Not something that's gonna knock me out for 2 days.

 

[bill barilko]

Here in BC I can see an issue with all the 'helpers' that have appeared in pharmacies these past few years-not interns or trainees just minimum wage grunts who can barely read or write handling people's prescriptions-scary stuff.

 

[CDNBear]

Here in BC I can see an issue with all the 'helpers' that have appeared in pharmacies these past few years-not interns or trainees just minimum wage grunts who can barely read or write handling people's prescriptions-scary stuff.

Well at least it gets you out of the double wide, as well as gives you sense of purpose and a pay cheque.