Medical Terminology for Health Professions 7th Edition by Carol Schroeder,Ann Ehrlich

Exercise 71

The following story and questions are designed to stimulate critical thinking through class discussion or as a brief essay response. There are no right or wrong answers to these questions.
Terrance Ortega had finally made it. Standing behind the counter of the pharmacy at SuperDrug, he thought back on his years at pharmacology school. He had studied hard, and it paid off when he landed this job.
A young man approached the counter and said, "I'm James Tirendale, and I'm here to pick up my mom Ginny's prescription for MS Contin." He flashed a handwritten scrawled note from his mother. "Sure thing, James, let me just find that for you."
Terrance headed to the counter where filled prescriptions were kept and grabbed the one marked "Ginny Tirendale." Sure enough, there was a prescription for MS Contin; a palliative usually prescribed for pain.
He explained to James the adverse affects that this drug could have, that it was to be administered orally, and that it was not to be crushed or cut. James paid cash and headed out of the store in a hurry.
Later that day, a woman on crutches came up to the pharmacy counter. She explained that her name was Ginny Tirendale and that she needed to pick up some pain medication because she had just had knee surgery. A confused look came over Terrance's face. "Your son already picked that up, Ms. Tirendale," he explained. "Oh no!" Ginny replied, "I knew I should not have told him I was coming here this afternoon. He must have realized which drug I was prescribed and got here before me."
Suddenly Terrance realized that he should have looked at the note more closely or called Ms. Tirendale before giving out a prescription for a drug with such a high "street value." It occurred to him that an adverse drug reaction could occur if MS Contin was taken with alcohol, and it could easily lead to psychological and physical dependence if abused. What if her son didn't know that and died, or sold it to someone else who abused it?
Terrance appears to blame himself for what happened with the MS Contin prescription. What might the pharmacy have done to ensure that medicine is always given to the right person, no matter who is on duty?