Deadly consequences

Monday, Feb. 18, 2008 | 2:08 a.m.

Considering the tragedies that have happened after people took the wrong medicine because of pharmacy errors, it would be reasonable to think they would do everything possible to prevent such mistakes. But safety measures have been offset by corporate profits.

USA Today last week found that tight staffing, corporate policies and the demand for speedy work at two of the nation’s largest pharmacies are adding to the chance of pharmacy errors.

Walgreens figures a pharmacist needs only two minutes to fill a prescription and CVS monitors pharmacists to see that they’re working quickly to meet customer demands. Both companies, which combined dispense nearly a third of the nation’s retail prescriptions, offer some sort of bonus based on either the speed or the volume of the work.

What the companies are gaining in speed, they may be losing in safety. Customers might get only a few seconds, if any time, with a pharmacist to discuss the medication. Regulators say consulting with patients is a good way to prevent mistakes, but such a measure can be lost because of corporate policies based on speed.

To help pharmacists meet their goals, corporations have turned to pharmacy technicians instead of hiring more pharmacists. The technicians, who have less training and thus make less money, can work under a pharmacist’s supervision. The pharmacist is responsible for making sure the technician’s work is done correctly while doing his or her own job and trying to hit corporate goals.

It is no wonder that pharmacists at corporate-owned pharmacies are more likely to complain about workload, stress and lack of adequate staffing than other pharmacists, as a study by a pharmacists’ association found.

This is a serious concern. Regulatory agencies such as the Nevada Board of Pharmacy have been keenly aware of the issue of pharmacy errors and they should pay careful attention to the issues raised in the USA Today report. The bottom line is this: Profits cannot be put ahead of safety.