Call Kurtis Investigates: Medicine Mistakes

ELK GROVE, Calif. (CBS13) -- An Elk Grove man says the pharmacy made a mistake giving him extra doses of the wrong medicine. He didn't realize it for months.

Turns out, a study shows there are 1.5 million medication errors in this country each year.

"I started thinking, what's wrong with Michael, why is he feeling bad," said Jean Black.

She says several weeks after her husband Michael's prescriptions were refilled at the Elk Grove Target, he started feeling funny.

"Joints in my body were aching," he recalls. "I was having a little bit of dizziness and (was) very, very fatigued."

Then Jean noticed the pills from the two prescriptions he was taking every single day to control his blood pressure looked a lot alike. She returned to the pharmacy.

"She looked at it, and she told me it was the same pill," Jean said. "It was a mistake."

The pharmacy admitted to putting the same pills in both bottles. That meant for two months, Michael was taking too much of one prescription and none of the other. Fortunately the mistake was not life threatening, but prescription mistakes can be.

"They are basically poisons," says Virginia Herold, Executive Officer of the California Board of Pharmacy. "If you take too many, you can possibly kill yourself."

She says 350-million prescriptions are filled each year in this state, and she admits her department doesn't know how many mistakes are made. It's primarily because state law does not require pharmacies to report mistakes to the board.

"Most pharmacies are not going to pick up the phone and say, 'by the way, we just made a mistake.'"

The only way the state learns of medication errors, is when patients complain to the pharmacy board. The board only received 307-complaints in the past year. Attempts here at the capitol to require any type of reporting to the state have failed including a bill drafted this year.

"We were saddened by it. It was a bill that would've been good for the board; good for patients," she said.

Although she says no pharmacist wants to make a mistake, they are human. Independent pharmacist John Ortego of Sacramento's Parkside Pharmacy says pharmacists get busy and it's possible to overlook things. He says one way to cut down on mistakes is to not pass up that consultation with the pharmacist.

"It's also a screening device," he said. "If you show up expecting something for toe nail fungus, and I'm telling you this medication is for seizures, then a red flag should go up."

As the Blacks found out, the drug named on the label may not be what's inside. Check the pills. Those tiny numbers and letters etched into the pills are there for a reason. Compare what you see with the pill description required to be listed on the bottle.

Target admitted the mistake in the case of Michael Black, calling it a serious oversight and they've reached out to the couple trying to negotiate a settlement.

The pharmacy board says it investigates every complaint it receives. They just fined the pharmacist in this case $750.

One study found the majority of medication errors happen at the beginning of the month, claiming that's when the most prescriptions are filled.

FDA Advice on Preventing Medication Mistakes

Target Statement

At Target, the safety and well-being of our guests and team members is our top priority. We are firmly committed to ensuring we deliver an outstanding experience for our guests, particularly when it comes to their health care needs.

Target has policies, procedures and extensive training in place to ensure our pharmacies are operating at all times in accordance with the law and the highest professional standards. In the event that a pharmacist has departed from these standards, we take prompt and appropriate action to ensure the safety and satisfaction of our guests and team members.

We take these situations very seriously and thoroughly review any incident involving errors with a guests' prescription to ensure we take appropriate action. Because of the sensitive nature of these situations we are unable to provide any additional specifics.

Kate Gillen
Target