23220 Chagrin Blvd., Suite 476, Beachwood, OH, 44122 [email protected] 440.289.8662

Month: March 2010

KETV Omaha: Heparin Overdose Kills Toddler At Hospital, Staff Investigated

Staff Overdosed Almariah Duque On Blood-Thinning Drug

OMAHA, Neb. — The Nebraska Medical Center is investigating its staff after the Wednesday death of a toddler from Texas who was given an overdose of Heparin, a blood-thinning drug.

Read the rest here.

Hudson Hub Times: Family's efforts helped make trip to pharmacy safer

March 28, 2010
by Laura Freeman, reporter

Everyone makes mistakes. I routinely check my take-out orders before leaving a restaurant and check my receipt for the sale price before leaving a store, much to my husband’s embarrassment. Recently, two mistakes at a local pharmacy made me thankful there are people like the Jerrys who fight for all of us.

Read the rest here.

RethinkingPatientSafety.com: Death Is Worse Than a Six Month Sentence

Legal proceedings about Emily Jerry triggered noise & public awareness

A February 26, 2006, Cleveland, Ohio, pharmacist’s error in mixing medication for two year old Emily Jerry took her life. Criminal prosecution of the pharmacist has generated detailed newspaper reports.

US Pharmacist: Criminalization of Medication Errors

Jesse C. Vivian, BS Pharm, JD
Professor, Department of Pharmacy Practice
College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences
Wayne State University

Here is a sobering thought. A pharmacist makes a mistake. The error results in the death of a patient, and the pharmacist is charged with negligent homicide. He is found guilty of involuntary manslaughter and faces up to 5 years in prison and a maximum fine of $10,000. Of course, his pharmacist license is revoked and chances are he will never work in the profession again. His crime? He did not check the accuracy of calculations used by a pharmacy technician under his charge to compound the concentration of sodium chloride in a prescription for a cancer chemotherapy solution.