• Home
• /
• Healthcare

Patient stunned by
pharmacist’s error

Following the incident, the healthcare group concerned has suspended the pharmacist for an indefinite period while the Dubai Health Authority (DHA) is also investigating the issue after the patient lodged a complaint.

On June 13, the patient, K.B., presented her prescription to a pharmacist at Bait Al Shifaa Pharmacy adjacent to the New Medical Centre (NMC) Hospital in Abu Hail to apparently buy medicine to treat infertility. Luckily, she bought a dose enough for a month instead of the prescribed three-month course.

A month later when she went to another pharmacy to buy the remaining dosage, K.B. found the packaging to be different. “I argued with the pharmacist but it was here I learnt that I had been taking the wrong medicine until now. For 24 days, I had been taking anti-inflammatory drugs (painkillers) instead of the medicine that was prescribed to me,” she told Khaleej Times while showing the receipts and prescriptions.

“I had overdosed by 72 tablets (one tablet three times a day),” she said. Due to the pharmacist’s error, K.B. was given Mefenamic Acid (painkiller) instead of Metformin (used to treat polycystic ovaries in diabetics).

“I was simply horrified. When I went back to the NMC pharmacy to complain, the manager simply apologised and said there has been a mistake,” said K.B. By then, K.B. had started feeling the mild side-effects as a result of the wrong dosage. “While taking the medicine, I had been feeling nauseous and dizzy but could not place the exact cause. Thank God, nothing serious has happened until now,” she said. Doctors say the consequences of wrong medication can be serious. Side-effects of taking a painkiller long-term can range from mild to serious, including a complete kidney shutdown.

Dr SreeKumar Iyer, a GP from Aster Union Medical Centre, said painkillers were not meant to be taken for a long period of time unless indicated. “Mild side-effects can include gastric issues, nausea and vomiting while serious effects can include a kidney failure, depending on the person’s health condition.”

“In our profession, there is no room for error,” he said, adding that to reduce risk, extra measures should be put in.

In a statement, NMC Healthcare said: “We are aware of this claim and have been in contact with the patient regarding the matter. Due to the various details and complexities involved, we are taking this matter very seriously and are conducting a full investigation into the events that took place in relation to it.

“This is in addition to actions we have already undertaken at NMC based on our own investigation of the matter so far, including disciplinary action against our staff. We have placed the pharmacist under suspension. “We have offered the patient the option of being consulted by one of our doctors or to see any other doctor of her choice to ensure that her health is okay at our cost. We also await any inquiry from DHA on this matter.”

It also said: “We have also implemented a ‘maker/checker’ policy in all our pharmacies across the UAE — each prescription will be inspected by a second pharmacist in addition to the primary dispensing pharmacist to ensure that errors do not happen (or at least the probability of errors is reduced significantly).”

Layla Al Marzouqi, Assistant Director for Health Regulation for the DHA, said: “Once the complaint is lodged with the DHA health regulation department, we collect all documents from both sides. A committee is formed that meets the patient and the pharmacist. We hear both sides, look into all related documents and conduct a thorough investigation before we conclude whether it is a medical error or not.”

K.B. said that she wanted to highlight the issue so that people can be extra vigilant. “We trust pharmacists so much that we do not even cross check if the medicine given to us is the right one or not,” she said.

“After this incident, I urge patients and all people with children to be very careful and do a check for themselves as well.”

asmaalizain@khaleejtimes.com