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CVS Prescription Errors

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It's estimated there are as many as 7,000 deaths annually in the United States from incorrect prescriptions and pharmacy regulators say the problem is getting worse as the number of prescriptions increases and the number of pharmacists decreases.

But surely a big company like CVS has a way to reduce the number of errors to nearly zero? We'd like to think so but the accounts we hear aren't very encouraging. In addition to the general mishaps below, we have a growing collection of consumer complaints about potentially serious errors including wrong counts, wrong dosage, the wrong drug and mistaken identity. The service pharmacy patients and their caregivers receive also leaves a lot to be desired.

Dorothy of Lancaster, TX February 5, 2010

On 02/04/2010, I dropped off a prescription bottle for a re-fill (#6)of the drug Dexamethasone 4 MG Tablet ROX. I went back the next day to pick the prescription up. The drug has to be taken 2 day before and 1 day after my Chemo treatment which was scheduled on Monday. I was at the drive-thru but as I was driving off I noticed that the pills were yellow in color and the bottle was almost full. My prescription was a little blue/green pill of no more than 14 pills. When I looked at the lable, I noticed that my name was on the lable but the drug was Paxil; I have never taken Paxil in my life.

I would have overlooked the error of giving me the wrong drug (this time)but what really upset me was the fact that when I returned to the store and went inside, this Pharmacist, James announced out loud in a public area full of customers, my condition; asking me personal questions with no concern of my privacy.

Elizabeth of Bedford, TX January 27, 2010

I called in a refill and gave the lady on the phone the fax number for the refill request because it had changed, in addition to the contact number of the perscribing physician. I called an hour later and they said the fax number was incorrect and therefore couldn't refill the perscription. I spoke with the same lady, Lynn, and told her that I gave the two correct numbers to her over an hour ago. She was rude and said I could report it to the manager tomorrow and I told her that I was sick and needed the perscription now and to send the refill request in. She hung up on me.

My husband graciously called back where the lady Lynn, refused to give us her manager's name and used abusive and foul language with my husband and telling him that it must have been a new guy that was in training. I called my physician immediately after I got off the phone with her, he said that he had no requests and then while we were on the phone he said the refill request came thru. My physician got the pharmacy number from me and said he was going to call. This is not the first time I have experienced abuse and neglect from this same store and same lady, she has not been made accountable and apparantly the manager of the establishment will not do anything about the incompetant employee. I have had it with this company. I hope that people's complaints are not only heard but something can be done about it. Thank you for the opportunity

Richard of Winchester, MA January 23, 2010

My CVS prescription error was nothing more than a nuisance because I caught it promptly and it was a minor mistake. However, I am writing to collaborate ohter individual reports that might suggest that CVS has deficient processes or process control methods for minimizing prescription errors.

I recently started taking an OTC generic proton pump inhibitor for acid reflux problems (Omeprazole). My internist prescribed one 20 mg pill a day, with an Rx for 30 pills a month. I filled this prescription 2 or 3 times. He also referred me to an ear, nose, throat specialist, who subsequently prescribed double the dosage. For convenience and cost savings, the specialist wrote me a second prescription for 120 pills, a two month supply.

Today (1/22/2010), I phoned in a refill on the second (120 pill) Rx to CVS's automated system for the Winchester, MA CVS branch, keying in The Rx number on the bottle. The automated system repeated the prescription number for this second Rx correctly to me, which I then confirmed.

However, when I went to pick up the prescription, I realized from the price and pill bottle size that they had filled the original prescription, which had been written by a different doctor under a completely different number than the one I had ordered on the phone.

It took the pharmacist (aide? - He was not the managing pharmacist on duty) 15 - 20 minutes on the computer to confirm that they had filled the wrong prescription. I then had to return to the store to pick up the corrected prescription.

By this time, different staff was on duty. I asked them how they could have given me the wrong prescription from the Rx that I had specified and confirmed to their automated system. The response was that CVS had a "new system" and that he was unable (and clearly unwilling) to try to figure out what had gone wrong. I responded that they had a quality problem. It was clear that I was wasting (even more of) my time trying to get a satisfactory response so I left.

It seems clear to me that someone in the pharmacy unilaterally made a decision to switch prescriptions. My insurance co-pays are structured so that I paid 15 for the 30 day supply (15/30 pills = 50 cents a pill), but only 30 for the 60 day supply of 120 pills. (30/120 pills = 25 cents a pill). So, from my expense, their margins are double for smaller prescriptions, but I have no idea how my insurer covers the balance.

charisse of wellington, FL January 21, 2010

i brought my two children (ages 4 and 5) to the minute clinic for their 2nd seasonal flu shot (this was the first year they were getting the shot) and the nurse mistakingly gave my youngest (son) the wrong shot. she gave him the H1N1, which my husband and I were completely against giving them. we do not feel confident at all with this shot.

i am extremely upset that my son was given this shot, when my husband and i had already made the conscious decision that we did not want our children to have it. GOD FORBID he has a reaction to a shot that we both did NOT want. i am upset that the wellness of my child was completely taken out of my hands.

Amy of Ladera Ranch, CA January 18, 2010

The pharmacy filled my rx with the wrong meds, it was a very similar drug that was used for my rx. It was a non fatal mistake, but could have resulted in serious health problems for myself and my baby.

Scott of Boston, MA January 9, 2010

On December 20, 2009, my dad went to our local CVS to pick up a prescription. When he got home, I looked at the bottle, and the name of the prescribing M.D. was totally different from his PCP-the guy that normally wrote scripts for this medication! I theorized that the pharmacist that filled it was either tired, lazy, or just wanted to leave. In any case, this was inexcusable.

Rebecca of Monticello , IN December 28, 2009

On Wednesday December 23, 2009 my husband attempted to fill his prescriptions after being told 3 different times that the medication would be ready in 15 minutes ( it took almost 2 hrs. we noticed on December 26th that the dosage amount and the Qty amount did not add up. They had him taking twice the prescribed amount! We will no longer be using CVS to fill our scripts! Luckily he didnt die!

adam of miami beach, FL December 24, 2009

I had a prescription called in by my doctor earlier today.... went in at about 10 min to midnight and picked up and paid for the prescription. When i got back home I looked at the pill bottle which was supposed to contain 90 1mg xanax- this is a regular prescription that I get monthly so i could tell that something looked wrong. I count the pills out and count 61. I immediatly try to call the store and pharmacy and am told that they are closed.... pharmacist is gone..... call back tomorrow- and click they hang up on me. I call back and speak to the store manager and explain my situation... pharmacy is closed- hangs up again....

This happened four times- all i wanted was for someone to leave a note or send an email to whom ever is opening in the morning- hangs up once again. This is not the first time this has happened. It happened a few months back with adderall- only giving me 60 of 90 pills. This is outrageous for mistakes like this to happen not to mention the aggrevation of time wasted fighting with employees

kellie of diamond bar , CA December 15, 2009

I picked up a prescription without a problem at 6pm, came home realized i frorgot i had another prescription to pick up so i went back ay 930pm. CVS can not find me in their system. I gave them my name 100 times my id so they can spell correctly & my insurance card, yet i was no where to be found. So i asked if i could pick out my signature from the earlier medication i picked up and they can look up my Rx # (those papers you have to sign saying you understand rules on meds) So i pick it out and my information comes up as a Daniel. My name nor anyone else in my household in named Daniel. So then i said well i did see my meds from earlier had my address from 7 years ago on it (which never had happened before) still nothing. So i went home called them up with my rx # that i had from the 6pm pick up and daniel comes up again. They tried to tell me i have a different spelling in my name or thats my middle name. but still do not have my medication after being at CVS for an hour.

Marie of Georgetown, KY December 15, 2009

I was given 50mcg Duragesic patches instead of the 25mcg that I was prescribed. These patches contain fentanyl, a powerful narcotic that is roughly 80-100x the strength of morphine. You absolutely can not increase the dosage of this medication without proper titration, and 50mcg would have been unquestionably fatal if I had not noticed the error before applying the patch.

The boxes that the medication comes in have the strength written in large print (and in differing colors for each dose) on the front and it is not difficult to determine which one you have. When I returned to the store and brought the mistake to their attention, the pharmacist did check the original prescription slip that they had on file, and it clearly said 25mcg.

Aside from the easy-to-read packaging, several other things should have alerted the staff to the error - most importantly of which was that the first (wrong) prescription that the cashier rang up came to a total that was almost double the normal copay; I asked about this and was told that I would need to call my insurance company to ask why it was suddenly more expensive (they didn't know, themselves). After returning for the correct dosage, they remarked that maybe that was why it rang up higher than usual.

On a slightly different note, CVS frequently runs out of this medication and forces customers to partially fill the amount and return for the rest before the month is over. This can cause problems with insurance billing and sometimes serious inconvenience for patients that are obligated to only use one pharmacy. While they were fixing the error, I was told that they were out of stock of the 25mcg patches and could only give me one. I was also told that they have trouble keeping this medication in stock, and to call several days in advance to remind them to order it if they are out.

The mistake I encountered was no doubt a result of a hectic workday on the part of the staff - they seemed to be running behind and stressed, with dozens of customers in the store. I was told when calling in the medication several hours earlier that they were extremely busy, in fact, and might be late filling my request. A customer nearby said aloud that she had been waiting for an hour. I can understand when people are having a rough day, but this is one area that cannot afford errors such as the one I encountered.

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