Prescription Mix-Up at Local CVS Pharmacy Raises Concerns for Louisiana Family
Tarah Thomas, a mother from Bossier City, Louisiana, is speaking out about a harrowing experience her family endured due to a prescription mix-up at a nearby CVS pharmacy. In an interview with KSLA, Thomas recounted the alarming incident involving her 13-year-old son receiving the wrong medication.
According to Thomas, her son was prescribed cough medicine and an antibiotic. However, her husband’s keen observation during medication administration revealed a startling discrepancy. “He said, ‘Look at this, it sounds like a tranquilizer,'” Thomas recalled, noting that the prescribed medication was intended for nighttime use and instructed to be taken for 90 days.
Upon closer inspection, the family realized the prescription belonged to a 30-year-old man suffering from high blood pressure and depression. Despite the similarity in names and birthdates, their addresses differed. “It actually hit me the address was wrong before I realized the name was wrong,” Thomas remarked.
Promptly reporting the mix-up, Thomas reached out to CVS’s corporate office and filed a complaint with the Louisiana Board of Pharmacy. In response, CVS issued a statement expressing regret for the error and assuring proactive measures to prevent such incidents in the future.
“We apologized to Ms. Thomas when she notified us that her son received the wrong prescription. We encouraged her to consult her child’s provider before giving him any additional medications and are looking into how this happened to help prevent a similar error in the future,” the statement read.
Thomas emphasized the importance of ensuring pharmacy accuracy and expressed hope that other families would not encounter similar mishaps. “I would hope the pharmacy would do something to make sure it doesn’t happen again,” she stated, highlighting concerns about staffing levels.
The incident underscores the critical need for pharmacies to prioritize patient safety and implement stringent protocols to minimize prescription errors.
