Around the Web…

These links are worth a click:

• Does eating processed foods lower a child’s IQ? — Guardian
• A pregnant mom is given an abortion drug in a pharmacy screw-up — TheStir
• Tina Fey pens a New Yorker piece about life as a working mom — lilSugar
• A study shows vaginal births coat babies with beneficial bacteria — FitPregnancy.com
• Are “popular” kids the biggest bullies? — CNN.com/The Chart

Comments

The pharmacy is to blame for giving her the wrong medicine, no doubt. But it amazes me how individuals continue to take no responsibility for anything. The pill bottle didn’t have her name on it and had the abortion pill name on it. Not being pregnant, I would check the pill bottle for my name and prescription before leaving the pharmacy. AND being pregnant, you can be sure I would check it and double check it.

- Jill on February 9th, 2011

Jill I thought the same thing, I always read the info that comes with my meds….even if it’s the antibiotic I’ve taken hundreds of times in the past. I also look at the pill bottle and if it’s a new pill I’ve never had before I look online at one of the websites that tell you what the pill should look like.

Now I really wish they would clarify what the pill is for. The lady the medicine was meant for was in her mid fifties…..I highly doubt she was using it as an abortion pill and was probably using it for what it was originally made for. Cancer treatment.

- TC on February 9th, 2011

The story about the switched pills is very sad, but I have to agree with Jill here — As a patient who takes several perscription medications I believe it is MY responsibility to ALWAYS check my meds before I take them. It’s a law now (and has been for a long time) that all medications come with information inserts. These inserts at all of the pharmacies I’ve ever been to (including Walgreens/Rite Aid/CVS, etc…) include the drug name, what it’s used for, possible side effects, directions for use AND a description of the pill. I’ve been taking my migraine meds for EIGHT years and I still check the pills with the label every time I get a new bottle. The fact that this perscription didn’t even have her name on… well… that’s saying a lot.

As for clarifying what the pill is actually for… other articles had. The article in our local news states that the medication is commonly used for psoriosis, rheumatoid arthritis and cancer. My guess is they can’t give the exact condition it was being perscribed for because it would be a breech of patient confidentiality, even though the other patient’s name is not known. Chances are that individual doesn’t know it was their medication/information given out and they don’t want to risk further damages.

That said, this doesn’t make it less of a scary situation for that woman and I do hope that everything turns out okay!

- Rachel on February 9th, 2011