A New Jersey CVS Pharmacy mistakenly filled prescriptions for chewable fluoride tablets for children with the similar-looking powerful breast cancer drug, Tamoxifen, during a more than two month period. CVS has admitted that a Chatham, New Jersey CVS Pharmacy filled the wrong prescriptions for children in as many as 50 families during the period from December 1, 2011 to February 20, 2012, without offering an explanation for how the repeated mistakes were made.
Fluoride has been added to municipal water supplies since the 1940s in the United States to help prevent tooth decay in children and others. With the advent of water bottles containing spring water without the addition of fluoride and other sources of water without the benefit of added fluoride, many children’s dentists prescribe flavored 0.5 mg fluoride tablets for their young patients. However, Tamoxifen, when chewed, would have a bad taste.
Tamoxifen Facts
While there have not been any currently reported ill-effects on the children who may have mistakenly received and taken Tamoxifen instead of the intended flouride tablets, Tamoxifen is not intended for use by children.
Tamoxifen has been used for more than 30 years to treat breast cancer in both men and women. Tamoxifen works by interfering with the female hormone, estrogen. The known serious side effects of Tamoxifen include the formation of blood clots, strokes, cataracts, and cancer of the uterus.
Fluoridation Facts
Grand Rapids, Michigan was the first city in the world to adjust fluoride in its water supply, beginning in 1945. Fluoridation has been credited as the single most effective public health measure to prevent tooth decay. The CDC has proclaimed municipal water flouridation as one of the ten most important public health achievements of the 20th century. As of 2002, over 170 million Americans were served by fluoridated public water supplies.
Fluoride appears naturally in drinking water but its level is adjusted in many public water supplies to between 0.7 and 1.2 parts per million, as recommended by the U.S. Public Health Service. Tooth decay in children between 5 and 17 is 5 times more common than asthma and 7 times more common than hay fever in that age group. Drinking water fluoridation reduces tooth decay by 20% to 40%.
The cost of fluoridation ranges between 50 cents per person per year in large communities to $3.00 per person per year in smaller communities. It is estimated that every $1.00 invested in water fluoridation results in savings of $38.00 in dental treatment costs. Nonetheless, only 67.3% of the U.S. population on public water supplies receive the recommended level of fluoridation in their drinking water.
Pharmacy Medication Mistakes
We trust our hospital pharmacies, retail pharmacies, and mail-order pharmacies to be staffed with professional, knowledgeable, and competent pharmacists and pharmacy staff who accurately and consistently fill our required prescriptions and provide appropriate advice regarding the medications we are prescribed. Mistakes made by pharmacies in filling prescriptions are never acceptable or expected.
Pharmacies are supposed to have systems and protocols in effect that are consistently employed in order to insure that each and every prescription is correctly filled. Medication errors may result from similar sounding medications, similarly spelled medications, or simple but unacceptable negligence in filling the prescriptions, such as dispensing the wrong medication.
Medication errors can result in permanent injuries or even death. If you may have received the wrong medication and suffered as a result of the medication mistake, you may be entitled to compensation for your injuries and losses. The advice received from a medical malpractice attorney may help you determine if you may bring a claim for your suffering.
Visit our website by clicking here or call us toll free at 800-295-3959 to be connected with medical malpractice lawyers in your local area who may be able to investigate your claim on your behalf and represent you with your claim, if appropriate.
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