Check your medicine cups: Reid Health finds, issues alert about manufacturer defect

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RICHMOND, Ind. – An alert team member at Reid Health helped discover that a small number of medicine cups dispensed by the pharmacy were defective, creating the possibility of someone taking an incorrect amount of liquid medication.

Mitchell Neal, Reid Health Director of Risk Management and Patient Safety, said only three cups have been found that had the 10ml mark labeled as 5ml.

“This cup has been isolated to outpatient pharmacy stock, and we have alerted our distributor who is investigating the issue to determine where they were made,” Neal said on Friday. “We are acting out of an abundance of caution and are not aware of any issues that have been connected to these cups.”

He said vendors and distributors will work to see how widespread the mislabeled supply was provided to customers elsewhere, noting that the issue affected only the outpatient pharmacy at Reid Health.

“The good news is that someone here discovered this issue, as our vendors were not aware until we alerted them,” he said.

Not everyone who fills a prescription with a liquid takes a cup, he noted. Some use a syringe dispenser and some prescriptions do not require a cup unless it is requested.

He said anyone who has received such a cup with a prescription should check it immediately and return it for a replacement should it be found to be mislabeled.

“Our pharmacy staff and risk management will monitor this closely,” he said.

After pharmacy technicians noticed a defect on the medicine cups, they noted it reads two “5s”, including one where a 10 should be.
https://www.dailyadvocate.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/web1_medicinecup.jpgAfter pharmacy technicians noticed a defect on the medicine cups, they noted it reads two “5s”, including one where a 10 should be.

Staff report

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