USA Today Series Examines Contributing Factors in Medication Errors

• "Drugstore Chains Rely on Pharmacy Technicians": The article examined how large pharmacy chains often must rely on pharmacy technicians because of a regional shortage of pharmacists and an increased number of prescriptions. Pharmacy technicians, who do not require certification in many states, enter prescription data, count pills, fill vials and take payments from patients, among other administrative duties. According to USA Today, based on "your point of view, that's good news because it frees pharmacists to do more important clinical functions -- or bad because technicians sometimes make mistakes that pharmacists don't catch and because pharmacists often have little time to help teach the technicians." No agreement exists on "how many technicians a single pharmacist is capable of supervising while still ensuring prescription safety," and at least 16 states have no limits, USA Today reports (Brady/McCoy, USA Today, 2/13).
  
  
• "Inside a Pharmacy Where a Fatal Error Occurred": The article profiled Terry Paul Smith, a roofing contractor who died of an accidental overdose of methadone after a pharmacy technician incorrectly labeled the dosage. According to depositions and interviews conducted for a lawsuit filed in December 2007 against the Walgreens pharmacy that filled the prescription, "both a technician with limited experience and a pharmacist coping with a heavy workload figured in the tragedy," USA Today reports. The case indicates "what can happen as pharmacies rely on lesser-trained technicians to help pharmacists prepare prescriptions," according to USA Today (McCoy, USA Today, 2/13).