PHARMACY PRESCRIPTION ALERT

The editor of Consumer Reports on Health writes that since hypertension runs in her family, she consulted her doctor. After his confirmation of the problem, she started eating better, exercising more and taking a beta-blocker. Her blood pressure has been under control ever since.

But as she wrote “Beware of Bad Labeling” that underscored the importance of being a proactive patient, particularly at the pharmacy, she decided to double check in the future.” Years before, she had picked up a prescription at a large retail drugstore and barely glanced at the bag. About to take a pill the next day she was startled to see that the colour and shape were different than usual. "I checked the label and realized that the medicine was not mine but someone else’s. I returned it, but only got an “oops” from the pharmacist when I pointed out the error."

“Drug mistakes are no joke and hardly rare,” Gayle Williams, the editor of ‘Consumer Reports.’ notes that nearly 1.9 million people in U.S. hospitals experienced side effects according to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. Nearly 56,000 of them died – and 11 percent increase. Pharmacists must make sure they dispense the right drugs and provide correct information, and consumers should double-check all medication before taking it.