My doctor's nurse "accidentally" ordered the WRONG DOSE of

[Radio_Lady]

medicine for me.

My former doctor had prescribed 75 mcg (micrograms). I was on that dose for years.

I started with a new primary care physician in May 2004. I brought in my prescription bottles. About two weeks later, I called for a refill. The new doctor's nurse wrote down 175 mcg., instead of 75 mcg., which was filled. (The new provider uses its own pharmacy and a different pharmaceutical company, so the pills looked different.) This error has caused me increased payments for medicine, blood tests, and much worry for MORE THAN A YEAR -- and some difficult side effects.

I left a message asking the doctor if the nurse had been located and admonished. There has been no response so far. I'm totally pissed off, but my husband said to forget it. "Haven't you ever made a mistake?" was his retort.

What should I do to get over this ANGER?

(I'd like to deposit that nurse at the top of Mt. Hood, Oregon, with no coat and no equipment to freeze to death!)

[KitchenWitch]

1. I don't know how to get over anger like that

But I do think there needs to be more checks and balances within the medication administration systems....really. (And I used to work in Pharmacy)

[MuseRider]

2. That is a big mistake

but the doctor should have caught it. That is why this happens. It is the nurses job to check the doctor the doctor to check the nurse. The doctor should not have signed the script if it was wrong.

[Radio_Lady]

4. This group operates by placing the prescription right into the computer.

There is no written script, unless you want to take the prescription to an out of network pharmacy.

Compounding the problem is that I was unfamiliar with the "reformulation" that was ordered by the FDA on these thyroid drugs, and a small notice came with the first prescription noting that "your prescription may look different."

What a screw-up!

After a year of blood tests, I went to the former drug store to check what I had been taking prior to May 2004. Then, I asked for a consult with the Chief of Endocrinology. He picked up the mistake immediately.

Check every prescription you get -- The last time this happened, a pharmacy in Massachusetts was supposed to give me PRILOSEC but I got PROZAC instead. Good thing I knew what the pills looked like.

There's just no room for these kinds of mistakes in a pharmacy. I am totally appalled by this error.

[KitchenWitch]

13. holy shit

you were essentially taking too much thyroid hormone for a year...damn. I would at least consult with a legal professional regarding this, not necessarily to sue, but to find out what my options are.

[Radio_Lady]

21. Kitchen Witch, I am faxing a complaint letter to the Member Relations

Department of this large health care maintenance organization.

Let's see what they do --

[KitchenWitch]

28. Hope the HMO takes this seriously

thyroid balance is very crucial to health.

[NoSheep]

3. It's a health issue. I think that kind of mistake is a bit more serious

than some. The consequences could have been much worse than those you describe here. I'd have to yell at SOMEONE!

[Radio_Lady]

8. I'm going to wait until my next blood test to see if everything is normal.

Then I will call Member Services and holler at someone -- even though I know it won't do a fat lot of good!

[Radio_Lady]

30. UPDATE: I filed a complaint with Member Relations -- involving

a monetary claim for physical, mental and emotional damages. We'll see what happens.

[skygazer]

5. My doctor's office once failed to give me an order for

an important lab test. There is a history of aneurism in my family and since I get severe migraines and since my insurance would cover the testing, my doc sent me for an MRI. We didn't expect to find anything so when I didn't hear from her, I assumed it came back clear.

I saw the doc several times over the next 8 months and she never mentioned anything about it. Eight months later, I called to ask if the MRI had shown any part of my neck as my chiropractor suspected a herniated disc - the receptionist asked if I'd had the CAT scan that was ordered. I said, no, I'd never heard that I was supposed to - she'd found the order in my file.

I went in to get it - it was dated 8 months previously, the time of the MRI, and the reason given for it was "possible 1mm aneurism, cerebral artery"!

I was SO PISSED!!!! And when I called the doctor and demanded to know why no one had ever gotten it to me, she casually told me, "Oh, it's a busy office. Sometimes things get overlooked."!!

Luckily, it was not an aneurism but if it had been, it could have killed me.

I think a big problem in doctor's offices is that they take too many patients - that's the case at my doc's. When you call to make a routine appointment, it's generally two months away. That's certainly no excuse - I'm still furious about that - but I think that's one reason for the mistakes.

[rock]

6. Ok, let's say you've made a mistake in the past

Didn't you have to pay for it?

[Total Disaster]

7. I'd hammer that nurse, and then..........

get a new husband!

[Radio_Lady]

10. Hey, Total -- this is my third husband -- three strikes and I'm out!

But I will try to get that nurse's name. I'm sure I won't be able to hammer away personally; however, I'll try.

[Total Disaster]

11. Third husband? No problem....

....nothing wrong with continuing to try till you get it right.

[Radio_Lady]

24. Naw, this one's a keeper. He's on my side this morning... RIGHT ON!

[gorbal]

12. It was probably the doctors fault

He is probably just blaming the nurse to save his own hide.You need a doctors order to get medicine, and doctors have HORRIBLE penmanship.

:)

[Total Disaster]

15. Yeah, I once knew a lady who had to go to the pharmacy....

....every time she needed a note from her husband (MD) translated.

[Radio_Lady]

23. See my post #4.

[uppityperson]

9. So did you have a speedy year?

They did something like this to me too, but cut mine in half. I caught it after a couple wks but felt like shit for a while.

[Radio_Lady]

27. Just realized I haven't answered you, uppityperson --

I had anxiety attacks, heart palpitations, ringing in my ears, loss of head hair and eyelashes -- who knows what else?

It was a stressful year, you bet!

[MGKrebs]

14. I don't know where you are, but here in Georgia,

medical malpractice liability has been capped. No matter how a mistake like this might end up affecting a life and a family and a community, insurance companies -and negligent health care workers- are protected from full responsibility.

I recently experienced a knee injury, and the doctor wanted to schedule an MRI. But in discussing it with him, he discovered that I had had brain surgery (aneurysm)a few years ago and had a metal clip in my head, so apparently this disqualifies me for MRI. He had to schedule a CT scan instead. Fine. So I go to the clinic for the scan, and the nurse comes to prep me and says "knee problem, so you're here for an MRI". Naturally I mentioned what the doctor had said and she looks a little more closely at the chart. We ended up with the CT scan. I honestly don't know what would have happened if they had done an MRI, but I think I came pretty close to getting one.

[Radio_Lady]

22. Wow. You DO have to be your own case manager!

Your metal clip might have been attracted to the magnet and flown right out of your head! Who knows? Jeeze, that was close. I'm glad you're OK.

[autorank]

16. You have to be your own case manager. That means you keep

all of your records, check prescriptions, make sure about follow up reports, and even look up conditions and current treatments on the internet (don't go overboard but check to make sure you're getting generally accepted standards of care).

If you don't, your records are not transferred properly or on time, you get the wrong prescription, and you may get old or eccentric treatment.

I'm very sorry this happened to you. It sucks bigtime. But, unfortunately, there is not a good system for coordinating care. The microchip idea - putting all records on a microchip card that you keep is the very best idea. You keekp it, it goes with you to doctor appointments, and they can't screw up as easily.

Good luck tracking the RN down.

[Radio_Lady]

20. autorank, you'd be proud of me -- I do this, but the error slipped by me.

I had changed health plans, doctors and pharmacies. Also, I had been told that the companies that made the thyroid drug had been ordered to reformulate. I assumed this was an authorized change of dosage -- the bottle said **NEW FORMULATION** and advised me to have more tests.

[elfin]

17. My pharmacist would have caught the change

and asked questions of me and the doc. I make a point to go to a "real" pharmacy instead of one which has "pharmacy assistants" who are people quickly upgraded to that task from checkout duties in many drug stores.

Most people do not know that many places only employ the bare minimum of real pharmacists who try to check everything, but must rely on extra help for routine tasks. They do not have the time to spot everything.

It costs just a bit more than going discount, but I trust them. They even saved my dog's life by searching and getting the best meds for the doggie version of human Wilson's disease (having to do with copper accumulation) It was a hard to get the med that no others would stock or get for me. That is when I switched forever.

[Radio_Lady]

29. The pharmacists here are nameless and faceless --

even in the direct-contact pharmacy. I'll have to see if they wear name tags next time.

I used the MAIL ORDER PHARMACY. There was NO name on the order.

[Fridays Child]

18. I can't tell you what to do but I know what they're hoping you'll do...

Be quiet and go away.

[Radio_Lady]

19. No way -- I just contacted Member Relations and my husband agrees

I should put a monetary value on the damages and pursue it with their administrators.

What is a year's worth of worry, pharmacy bills, retesting and getting the wrong results, plus loss of head hair, jitters, etc. worth?

I need a value and a figure...

[maveric]

25. As a nurse Its sad for me to say that many of my peers are incompetent

or dont really care about the well-being of patients. Its a sad testament to our Healthcare industry.

[Radio_Lady]

26. Maveric, you DO care. I hope my non-profit HMO cares enough

to adjudicate this properly.

This morning, my doctor emailed me and said essentially that his nurse didn't remember making this error since it was a year ago. (Good luck!)