An ongoing debate i have had with numerous colleagues, both pharmacists and doctors
Imaginary situation.
A patient dies from being given a drug they are allergic to, and which is documented in the allergy section of their in-patient drug chart.
How much proportion of blame is attributed to each party:
- Doctor who prescribed the drug
- Pharmacist who has clinically screened the precription and signed it off on the drug chart
- Nurse who gave the drug
Bottom line is that ALL three are responsible.
If ANY one of them had noticed the error patient would still be alive.
A mistake is seldom due to just one person or one situation, a number have to happen together for a mistake to have serious consequences. That is why even the tiniest modification can be helpful.
In the end the insurance companies and/or the courts would have to decide on the balance of blame but each must admit, to themselves if no one else, that they messed up and messed up bad.
Registered Pharmacist
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