Complain about a product or service

CVS Rx Errors - Wrong Drug

CVS • Rx Errors   › Wrong Count   › Wrong Dosage   › Wrong Drug   › Wrong Count   › Wrong Identity • Rx Service • Minimum Rx Charge • Prices • An Insider's View --- News • California Prods CVS to Stop Selling Expired Products • CVS, Caremark Rx Agree to Merge • CVS In Merger Talks With Caremark • New York Fines CVS for Sweepstakes Violations • Extra Care Records Subject to Snooping • CVS Takes Measures to Block Counterfeit Drugs • CVS Settles Pennsylvania Suit

Nancy of Columbia SC (11/27/05):
I went to pick up my prescription they had filled. The following day I was sick, dizzy and having fainting spells. The nest day I recieved a call from the Pharmacy saying they gave me the wrong medication! They said they were sorry and I will get my refill free. This could have been a disaster had I wrecked the car while driving. Or fell down a staircase.

I fainted 3 times and drove the car to the mall before I knew this was happening.I fainted at the local Walmart and my children (now grown) picked me up off the floor...we had no idea at this point what caused this. The next day (after making a Dr. appt with my heart Dr, I get the call from CVS saying they filled the wrong medication.

What legal rights do I have? Would I have had to hurt myself or someone else before I can sue or bring any legal action?

Nancy should file a complaint with her state pharmacy board.

Christy of Ocean City MD (5/10/04):
My six-year-old son has been on reflux medicine and we refill every month with CVS. On 5/9/04 my husband gave my son his medicine after recieving the refill earlier that day, but this time my son was screaming that it burned his tongue and tasted horrible. I went to check the pill, and it was not the same as the last 2 years.

The pill had 20mg's on it and my son only takes 10mg's of the generic form of prilosec. It was 10:00pm and the pharmacy was closed and I was in a panic as it could have been any kind of pill. I called poison control, and it was Prozac. They said that he would be fine, but if I had not known what the pill was supposed to look like, he could have been taking Prozac for 30 days, or worse yet, it could have been a heart medicine and killed him.

Veronica of Yeadon PA (4/10/04):
On 4/9/04 I had my doctor call in a prescription at CVS for the migraine medication Maxalt 10mg. I picked up the medicine, drove to another store to pick up a few things. Before going into the store I took out the prescription and noticed that it was a generic brand, which my insurance encourages. I started to read the insert that is provided with the prescription because I had never gotten generic Maxalt before. As I read about Hydrochlorothiazide 10mg; brand name Maxide, I said to myself, "what the heck is this!?"

The medicine that I picked up was for high blood pressure and stated, among other things, that it was the equivalent of taking two water pills. Since it was a few minutes past 9pm, I immediately called the pharmacy and told them I was supposed to get the migraine medicine Maxalt. The person I spoke to said this is a new prescription. I said I know, I had my doctor call it in today, she then put me hold. The person that came back was the pharmacist who I told the same thing. She said, "just a minute", then said, "oh, you were supposed to get Maxalt. I'll be here until 9:30, I can correct it either tonight or in the morning." I said, "I'll be there shortly, I need it tonight."

It was 9:25 when I got there and they were pulling down the gate. I handed the incorrect prescription over to the cashier who gave it to the pharmacist. The pharmacist refunded my co-pay right away. I then had to wait another ten minutes for the correct prescription to be filled. The pharmacist handed it to the cashier when finished and said casually, "sorry for the mistake." Because she was so nonchalant, I wanted to make a big deal out of it, but my head hurt too bad.

It terrifies me think about what reaction my body could have had to the wrong medication. Thankfully no physical damage occured because I just happened to read the pamphlet before I took the medicine. There are so many people who don't because they assume they're getting the right medication.

Christine of Swannanoa NC (2/4/04):
My 13-year-old daughter was given the wrong medication and she took it for 30 days. The medicine was in the original package with real name on it and covered with the CVS label with the name of her real medicine she was supposed to get. If I hadn't changed pharmacies to refill her prescription and noticed the pills were different and called the new pharmacy to ask why, what would have happened to my daughter?

She couldn't go to school for a week. Second week she went a few days and slept and had to be picked up. She couldn't concentrate or function as normal. Second day on medicine had to call 911 because of her neck and left arm drawing close to her body, was afraid she was having a stroke -- hyperventillating, etc. Doctor feels sure this was caused from new medicine given and not having right one at the time.

Darlene of Chadbourn NC (11/18/04):
On 11-4-03 I took my 6-year-old daughter to see our physician due to what turned out to be an upper respitory infection. Along with Amoxicillin for infection, he prescribed Levall for her congestion and cough. I distinctly remember seeing on the prescription: "Dispense as Written." I took the prescription to CVS in Whiteville, NC and purchased what I thought to be Levall.

I had to take our daughter back to the doctor on 11-18-03 due to continuing, progressive cough. After a chest x-ray, we discovered that she had pneumonia! Luckily, I had taken with me the bottle of prescription medicine I had been giving her for the cough. The physician was very surprised to see that what I had was not what he had prescribed for her! We had in fact been given Phenylephrine, Hydrocodone Bitartrate, Chlorpheniramine Maleate. According to our physician, she was receiving more milligrams of one item, none of Guaifenesin and something he had not intended her to receive at all, the Chlorpheniramine Maleate.

Our physician said what probably happened was that they searched their computer and found what they believed to be a generic and made the substitution without my or my physician's approval. While in his office, he called the pharmacy and they confirmed the error. They stated that yes, his original prescription stated to dispense Levall only. My question is if it was supposed to be a generic, why did it not have the same ingredients? How could CVS have made such a mistake which could affect my child's health? And who's to say that if she had received the correct medicine to begin with, that her illness would not have progressed into pneumonia?

Roseann of Wayne NJ (6/11/04):
I have used CVS for prescriptions, but have stopped due to the fact that I have received the wrong medications on several occasions. I am a diabetic and received high blood pressure medication and did not know this until when I got home to take it, noticed it looked different. Thinking that maybe the drug itself may have changed, I called the pharmacy and was then told what it was. That is just one of the few occurences. (There have been times when I see the pharmacist eating while filling out prescriptions).

My future mother in-law, who is 77 years old, lives with me. She still uses CVS even though her prescriptions have been wrong in the past. She at least is of sound mind to notice when this happens. Older people do not like change, but after the following, as of today, she is now going to use the pharmacy I now use.

She called in her prescription early on 6/9/04 for Ranitdine. Her prescription calls for 60 pills. On the way home from work, my future husband picked up the medication. When he brought it home, she noticed that she only received 30 pills. Reason being is the manufacturer has these pills already sealed with "30 caplets," which is clearly marked on their label. The pharmacist places the CVS label over this label, showing quantity 60. We had called over and explained and they asked him to bring in the presciption back and they would take care of it.

After going to the doctors for my future husband, we stopped in CVS at around 11 PM that night to refill prescriptions that he was given and to pick up hers. That was a 1/2 hour wait, even though no one was in the store at this time. The cashier apologized, gave us the bag and we left. When we got home, my mother-in-law checked, and they still only gave her 1 bottle, the manufacturer's bottle, with only 30 pills and not 60 which is prescribed.

At 11:45 pm the same night, I called over to the pharmacy to speak with the pharmacist. He was very nasty and rude, refused to give me his name. I had to tell him 4 times what was the problem. He then put the phone down on the counter while I was talking to him, when I kept saying HELLO, he then picked it up and said that he was checking on it. He then proceeded to tell me that I had to come in again to show him the bottle, that he couldn't tell from his computer, and said if I did not want to come back that I could wait until Friday to speak with the pharmacist who filled it in the first place. (2 more days and my mother-in-law only had 3 pills left!)

Tony of East Point GA (2/3/03):
I received an incorrect prescription out of three prescriptions in Feb of '98. Unbeknownst to me for a full week I ingested an incorrect medication along with two correct meds. I experienced during that week a severe lack of energy. Unable to move more than from my couch to the bathroom. I rarely ate. I never left the inside of my home for that week. I recall hallucinating during that time.

I was suffering from acute bronchitis which may explain the weakness, however it did not explain what happened when I completed the medication prescribed. (remember we are told to finish all of our medication). After that week on the meds prescribed, I contacted my doctor (before returning to work) to find out what was happening to me, as I felt the bronchitis problems had cleared up but felt something else was going. I did not feel in control as I recall. I saw my doctor and he pulled the chart of the day he last examined me with the prescribed meds. I realized that one of the three he prescribed was not what I had received. I told him and he confirmed same. Duratuss was the name of drug on the bottle in question. I had taken the last dosage of all three meds that morning before the appointment with doctor.

I recall complaining to my doctor about a metallic taste, hallucinations, incoherency, and dizziness, as I recall. My doctor felt I had been taking some form of opiates. Later that night I became violently ill as never before in my life. I thought I was dying. Severe body aches (through my bones), excruciating headaches, horrific nightmares, vomiting, and hot and cold flashes. This kept me from sleeping through the night. I feel that I went through some form of withdrawal.

I almost attacked my then pregnant wife thinking she was a prowler in the home. She was simply checking on me during the night. She said I jumped straight up in the middle of the bed screaming at her in a panic. My health worsened over a 3 year period of time. I was diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, depression/ anhedonia. Tested for Parkinson's Disease. I noticed the inability to recognize pain, frequently told I was bleeding after attempts at outside activity, yet I would be totally unaware of injury. Was referred to a psychiatrist when my primary care physician noticed symptoms of depression.

I drive for a living (double trailer rig) and began experiencing tremors in my hands while driving. Not good with two trailers behind that are affected by the slightest movement of steering wheel. I overturned the rig 2 years after the prescription error, encountered numerous moving violations while in rig (driving double trailers in the HOV lane). Everybody knows (including I) that big trucks are not supposed to travel in the far left/fast lane of any interstate system. Yet I did it totally unaware of where I was -- several times like nothing was out of sort. I encountered several dangerous motorcycle accidents (once blacking out in a mountainous curve).

I began to have problems with memory, cognitive skills, unable to understand verbal conversations, inability to write letters/emails without gross errors in word choice etc. I'd never had a need to use spell check in my life till then. My writing/speaking skills was something I'd always prided myself on retaining through the years. It became hard to have a conversation with people forgetting what I was saying mid-sentence. I became a recluse to family and friends, unable to enjoy life.

A year after hiring an attorney, he sent me a report on the particular pharmacist in my case. It was from the state board of pharmacy in my state indicating that the pharmacist had been investigated by the state previously for stockpiling narcotics at a drug store where he worked. Further investigation found that the same pharmacist was found guilty of & admitted to changing patients' prescriptions without physician approval, dispensing narcotics to known drug abusers, dispensing narcotics to patients with forged prescriptions, dispensing narcotics via prescriptions from an area doctor who knew the prescriptions were bogus, etc.

According to the investigation report, when he was asked why he was stockpiling narcotics-he stated that he was "stockpiling drugs for drug addicts". He also admitted to his own illegal narcotic use and indicated in deposition that he requested confined rehabilitation at one time because he was a threat to himself (as I recall). My attorney gave me the impression that this information was significant to my case. Then we get to mediation last September & I'm told that pharmacist's prior bad acts cannot be used in my case.

I feel that CVS was negligent in their hiring process if they knew about my (former) pharmacist background/license suspension/drug addiction. If they did not know about his background/suspension, they are still liable because the information with the state board of pharmacy is public record. If you hire a person with an addiction, wouldn't you place them under random drug testing stipulations, if foolish to hire them in the first place?

Nicole of Lorain, OH (1/16/01):
On Sept 6th of 2000 I was diagnosed with a stress related anxiety disorder. I was prescribed "Paxil 20mg" to treat this. Through a series of follow-up apts & refills of the prescription through CVS Pharmacy my condition was improving greatly & the medication was serving its purpose.

In Dec. of 2000 my doctor called in a refill for the "Paxil 20mg" prior to a scheduled follow-up so that I can continue taking my medication without interruption. My business office is located in North Ridgeville, OH so it's convenient to go to the local pharmacy on my lunch break. I was not able to stop and pick it up as planned and the weekend off meant I would not be back till the next week.

I called the Lorain CVS 12/15/00 and asked if my prescription could be transferred to their location. The pharmacist on duty (Woody) advised me that even though I had been taking the medication for some time, since the doctor called it in, it was considered a new prescription and had to be filled at the location it was phoned into. I explained to him what I was taking and that if I waited till the following week to pick up, it would mean me not taking it for a few days. He took my phone number and said he would see what he could do.

About half an hour later he phoned me and verified my information and said he would fill the prescription. I picked up the prescription and continued to take as prescribed. Throughout the course of a week I started having symptoms that were not there before. I became frequently nauseous and extremely anxious and very emotional. I was getting angry over the smallest things and I felt something was wrong.

I began reading the information enclosed in my prescription and looking at my bottle of pills and realized I had been taking "Prozac 20mg" for almost 2 weeks. The pharmacist had put a label for a prescription of "Paxil 20mg" on top of a bottle containing "Prozac" and I immediatly quit.

It has been a month since this error. I have not yet gotten back on the correct medication due to the damage caused by this error. It has affected myself, my family & those who know me. It instilled a "fear" in me I did not have before.

Report Your Experience
If you've had a bad experience -- or a good one -- with a consumer product or service, we'd like to hear about it. All complaints are reviewed by class action attorneys and are considered for publication on our site. Knowledge is power! Help spread the word. File your consumer report now.