Philip's new anticancer drug was picked up on Thursday. The pharmacist had not been familiar with the drug and I had to print the name for her before she could order it from Sydney. The packet instructions said "One tablet twice daily" so Philip took the first dose Thursday evening, then the two per day on Friday and Saturday as instructed. On Sunday morning I began to worry because I remembered the oncologist saying, one tablet per day. Also the Patient Information sheet said that the normal dose was one tablet per day. Sure enough, the original written prescription (in poor doctor's writing) said "One tablet daily" but the pharmacist had misread "tablet" as "twice". Medication is frequently packeted in a month's supply and one would have thought that a packet of 30 would have rung some sort of bell.
The Poisons Information Service reassured us that the two-day overdose was unlikely to have any serious adverse effect and the oncologist confirmed this on Monday morning. But it was a significant dispensing error and the pharmacist wrote my complaint on the back of his hand, which I told him did inspire confidence that procedures would be reviewed. He said he intended to go straight to the computer but agreed to photocopy the original script and the pharmacy printout.
I intend reporting the matter to AHPRA.
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