Patient Dies in Hospital After Given Wrong Medication
When Richard Smith arrived at North Shore Medical Center in Miami Florida complaining of shortness of breath and stomach pain, his doctor prescribed Famotidine, a a histamine-2 blocker that reduces stomach acid, intravenously (IV) twice per day. However, what he received instead was Pancuronium bromide, a muscle relaxant. The medication error killed Smith. After receiving the wrong medication, Smith died a few weeks later.
The nurse who committed the fatal medical error was disciplined and cited for failure to perform safeguards in place to prevent medication errors such as failure to read the medication label, failure to scan the medication and failure to scan Smith’s patient ID bracelet.
It is likely that if the nurse had performed any of these required safety measures, Richard Smith would still be alive.
1-800-662-6230 or evableich@aol.com
- Blood Testing for Brain Damage - October 21, 2020
- Federal Judge Finds Health Insurer DiscriminatedAgainst Patients with Substance Abuse and Mental Health Disorders - March 25, 2019
- Factors Impacting Maternal Health During Hospital Births - March 22, 2019
