BalekFekete
Shared on Wed, 01/16/2008 - 08:13And the award goes to....The Quaid Family - well, just Dennis and the wife. The kids are innocent.
In case you have missed it in the news, back in November, the couple’s newborn twins were given an incorrect dosing of the drug heparin, a leading anti-clotting agent. The dose administered was from another packaging of the drug, and 1000 times more concentrated than the intended dispensation of drug meant to be used to keep the IV lines free and clear. Fortunately, the error was caught in time and countermeasures put in place to help the kids recover from the incident. Today, they are doing fine by the latest reports.
However, and what earns the award to douches, is that they have now brought a lawsuit against Baxter Healthcare, Inc., the manufacturer of the drug. 
They are claiming that the manufacturer was negligent by failing to activate a recall on the product when three children died at a separate hospital in similiar circumstances. To this I call BULLSHIT loud and clear.
They are claiming that the manufacturer was negligent by failing to activate a recall on the product when three children died at a separate hospital in similiar circumstances. To this I call BULLSHIT loud and clear.It might seem like a rationale thing to do - there's a catch. The fact, plain and simple, is that the fault nor responsibility lies with the manufacturer. The drug in question, and every piece of it's labeling, is FDA reviewed and approved. Then, let's move to the hospital. Two separate and independant checks are supposed to be in place to avoid this type of error, one at the pharmacy when the drug is dispensed, and one at the health care professional before the drug is administered. Only when both of those fail can this be possible.
For those who aren't familiar with drug packaging, the FDA is extremely tight on what it will and will not allow onto a product packaging. Case in point - to help avoid this exact same situation, my current employer spend 3 years...THREE YEARS...fighting with the FDA to allow us to color code our disposable insulin device packages based on dosage. Why - because if you overdose a person with diabetes, they go hypoglycemic, slip into a coma, and die. But how close are the two vials of heparin?
(sorry for the focus...best I cold find)
The vial on the right was the intended drug to be used, the one on the left the actual anticoagulant used in the twin. Different enough that you, as a medical professional, should be able to tell the difference? My vote is yes.
So Dennis and Kimberly, please take your lawsuit and shove it up your ass. I'm thrilled that the children are OK, but this is bullshit clear and simple. Don't like the labeling - change the defendant the read "F.D.A.".
edit: One thing that I didn't make nearly clear but is important - the medical professionals that take care of the public have a remarkly difficult and stressful job. We go to them when we are at our worst, and their job is to make us better. I give them all the credit in the world for taking the profession and going with it. I actually took the MCATs after finishing my undergrad, and did well enough to get into medical school. However, prior to applying I had an epifiny - I hate myself when I'm sick...what makes me think I'll enjoy tending to other people when their sick??? After realizing that, I quickly changed gears to get the M.B.A., and deal with the corporate arena rather than the medical arena. Sooo....if you're a MD, RN, LPN, whatever....someone said it - mistakes happen, you're human. Keep up the good fight. 
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Submitted by Caduceus on Wed, 01/16/2008 - 08:52
Submitted by Caduceus on Wed, 01/16/2008 - 08:52
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