Newborn's Grandmother Says Walgreens to Blame For Prescription Error

By: Dianne Derby | News Channel 7
Published: August 25, 2010

Tammy Hyatt said her grandson, Jacob, was only two weeks old when he was prescribed Zantac for acid reflux. She said the prescription was filled by a Walgreens pharmacy in Greenville. But instead of getting Zantac, Hyatt says they got the generic substitute for Zyrtec, a drug doctors say treats the symptoms of sinus problems and allergies.

"I don't know what the generic names for Zyrtec and Zantac is," Hyatt said.

Hyatt said they have had prescriptions filled at that Walgreens before and every time they substitute a generic they list it on the bottle. But she said on Jacob's bottle no note was made that it was a generic substitute.

"We called in another refill a couple weeks ago and the Doctor called back and said not to give him any more medication, that the pharmacy had filled the wrong medicine," said Hyatt.

Hyatt said she complained to the Walgreens corporate offices but never got a response, so she called 7 On Your Side.

Walgreens spokepserson Robert Elfinger sent us this statement:

"Prescription errors are rare and we take them very seriously. We are sorry this occurred and we have apologized to the family. We have a multi-step prescription filling process with numerous safety checks in each step to reduce the chance of human error. We will investigate what happened and work to prevent it from happening again."

So how can you prevent something like this from happening to you? Dr. Jocelyn Renfrow, an internal medicine physician with Greenville Hospital System, said do not rush though communication with your doctor and pharmacist.

"The first step is in the Doctor's office making sure the prescription you get in your hand has your name on it, the appropriate dose, and you understand what that medicine is for," Renfrow said. "When you drop it off, confirm with the pharmacist that it is the right thing. And (when you pick it up) take the bottle out of the bag to double check that that's what you thought you dropped off."

Hyatt said the next time she picks up a prescription she will look twice before giving it to little Jacob.

"You have to be very careful," Hyatt said.

The South Carolina Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation spokesperson said by law if a generic drug is substituted it must be indicated on the prescription label. To make a complaint against a pharmacy you can contact the SCLLR at (803) 896-4300.