Re: Ohio's Law Close to being on Books - Re: Took the test

[Guest guest]

#$%@#$% yeah that pharmacist should have caught it, ESPICALLY since the tech had

a feeling something was worng with it.  that would be a clue to the pharmacist

to double check everything about it. 

From: Jeanetta Mastron CPhT BS Chemistry rxjm2002@...

Dear Crabbyolspinster,

Congrats on takaing the exam. Let us know when your results come in!

Here is a link and article to the newest information that I could

find about 's Law. If any one has an update let us know.

Jeanetta

http://blog. cleveland. com/openers/ 2008/11/emilys_ law_for_pharmacy _tech

ni.html

''s law' for pharmacy technicians expected to pass

Posted by Marshall/Plain Dealer Columbus Bureau November 20,

2008 08:12AM

Courtesy of Jerry family Jerry died when a pharmacy technician

mistakenly gave her an IV with a solution that was 23.4 percent salt

instead of a pre-packaged IV that was less than 1 percent salt.

Previous stories:

LaTourette bill would regulate pharmacy

techs

Girl's death puts spotlight on regulating technicians

COLUMBUS -- Jerry died because a pharmacy technician wasn't

trained well enough to know she was making a lethal mistake by mixing

a heavy dose of salt into the tiny girl's chemotherapy treatment.

That tragedy should never be repeated, the girl's mother,

Jerry, told state lawmakers Wednesday as they held a hearing on a

bill to regulate and train pharmacy technicians in Ohio for the first

time.

Known as " 's law, " the measure would require that Ohio pharmacy

technicians pass a competency test as well as a criminal background

check. The measure passed the Ohio Senate in May, and is now

undergoing hearings in the House Health Committee.

Propping up a picture of her curly-haired toddler in front of her,

Jerry described holding the 2-year-old in her arms as the Mentor girl

first went limp and then began screaming as the saline coursed

through her veins.

" The whole time that she was screaming, she was holding the side of

her little head, " Jerry said as she fought back tears. She told the

lawmakers that the pharmacy technician has told investigators that

she didn't know that the sodium chloride solution could be

fatal. " How can a person who works in a pharmacy and compounds

medication daily not know that? " she asked.

died when pharmacy technician Dudash mistakenly gave the

girl an IV with a solution that was 23.4 percent salt instead of a

pre-packaged IV that was less than 1 percent salt, according to

investigators.

Dudash told her supervisor, pharmacist Cropp, that something was

wrong with the mixture, but he approved it anyway, according to

testimony at an Ohio Pharmacy Board hearing in April 2007.

Cropp lost his pharmacist's license and was indicted by a grand jury

on charges of involuntary manslaughter and reckless homicide.

He is awaiting trial on the pair of third-degree felonies and faces a

maximum of five years in prison if convicted.

Dudash was not indicted and is expected to testify against Cropp.

The fact that Dudash was not charged clearly upset . " Would you

want this pharmacy technician filling your prescription? " she asked

the lawmakers.

Jerry said that lawmakers have told her that the bill will be

approved before the end of the lame-duck session next month.

Prospects for the bill -- which was held up in the Senate for months

as it was tweaked -- have improved as former opponents have climbed

on board. Representatives from both the National Association of

Pharmacy Technicians and the Ohio Pharmacy Board testified in favor

of the bill Wednesday.

Bill Winsley, executive director of the state pharmacy board, told

lawmakers that about 150 errors are reported to the board each year,

but said that most are caught by the pharmacist and never reach

patients. " This is the first extremely serious error that we have

been able to trace back to the technician, " he said. " But the

pharmacist should have caught this. "

Jeanetta Mastron CPhT

Founder/Owner

>

> Hi!

> I took the PTCB test last week and guess it went OK - yikes! Of

course

> thinking that it'd be a great Christmas present to find out I

passed,

> but the date they gave me is a few days after Christmas. Just

> wondering - do they sometimes post your results early, or are the

> results only posted on the date you're given? Of course, getting

the

> results before Christmas could also be a bad idea.......

> Hearing that Ohio will soon (next week?) pass their law to require

> certification.

> Merry Christmas!

>

[Guest guest]

To answer the mother's question: Yes I would want this technician

filling my prescriptions. For as long as I have been tech, even if I

thought there was a mistake, the pharmacist has the final say as to

whether the prescription is filled and dispensed. The technician (even

being untrained/unschooled) sensed or knew something was not right with

the iv and alerted the pharmacist. What more could she have done

(legally)?

On Fri, Dec 19, 2008 at 5:02 PM, karin h wrote:

#$%@#$% yeah that pharmacist should have caught it, ESPICALLY since the

tech had a feeling something was worng with it.  that would be a clue to

the pharmacist to double check everything about it. 

From: Jeanetta Mastron CPhT BS Chemistry rxjm2002 (DOT) com

<mailto:rxjm2002@...>

Dear Crabbyolspinster,

Congrats on takaing the exam. Let us know when your results come in!

Here is a link and article to the newest information that I could

find about 's Law. If any one has an update let us know.

Jeanetta

http://blog. <http://blog.> cleveland. com/openers/ 2008/11/emilys_

law_for_pharmacy _tech

ni.html

''s law' for pharmacy technicians expected to pass

Posted by Marshall/Plain Dealer Columbus Bureau November 20,

2008 08:12AM

Courtesy of Jerry family Jerry died when a pharmacy technician

mistakenly gave her an IV with a solution that was 23.4 percent salt

instead of a pre-packaged IV that was less than 1 percent salt.

Previous stories:

LaTourette bill would regulate pharmacy

techs

Girl's death puts spotlight on regulating technicians

COLUMBUS -- Jerry died because a pharmacy technician wasn't

trained well enough to know she was making a lethal mistake by mixing

a heavy dose of salt into the tiny girl's chemotherapy treatment.

That tragedy should never be repeated, the girl's mother,

Jerry, told state lawmakers Wednesday as they held a hearing on a

bill to regulate and train pharmacy technicians in Ohio for the first

time.

Known as " 's law, " the measure would require that Ohio pharmacy

technicians pass a competency test as well as a criminal background

check. The measure passed the Ohio Senate in May, and is now

undergoing hearings in the House Health Committee.

Propping up a picture of her curly-haired toddler in front of her,

Jerry described holding the 2-year-old in her arms as the Mentor girl

first went limp and then began screaming as the saline coursed

through her veins.

" The whole time that she was screaming, she was holding the side of

her little head, " Jerry said as she fought back tears. She told the

lawmakers that the pharmacy technician has told investigators that

she didn't know that the sodium chloride solution could be

fatal. " How can a person who works in a pharmacy and compounds

medication daily not know that? " she asked.

died when pharmacy technician Dudash mistakenly gave the

girl an IV with a solution that was 23.4 percent salt instead of a

pre-packaged IV that was less than 1 percent salt, according to

investigators.

Dudash told her supervisor, pharmacist Cropp, that something was

wrong with the mixture, but he approved it anyway, according to

testimony at an Ohio Pharmacy Board hearing in April 2007.

Cropp lost his pharmacist's license and was indicted by a grand jury

on charges of involuntary manslaughter and reckless homicide.

He is awaiting trial on the pair of third-degree felonies and faces a

maximum of five years in prison if convicted.

Dudash was not indicted and is expected to testify against Cropp.

The fact that Dudash was not charged clearly upset . " Would you

want this pharmacy technician filling your prescription? " she asked

the lawmakers.

Jerry said that lawmakers have told her that the bill will be

approved before the end of the lame-duck session next month.

Prospects for the bill -- which was held up in the Senate for months

as it was tweaked -- have improved as former opponents have climbed

on board. Representatives from both the National Association of

Pharmacy Technicians and the Ohio Pharmacy Board testified in favor

of the bill Wednesday.

Bill Winsley, executive director of the state pharmacy board, told

lawmakers that about 150 errors are reported to the board each year,

but said that most are caught by the pharmacist and never reach

patients. " This is the first extremely serious error that we have

been able to trace back to the technician, " he said. " But the

pharmacist should have caught this. "

Jeanetta Mastron CPhT

Founder/Owner

>

> Hi! I took the PTCB test last week and guess it went OK - yikes! Of

course

> thinking that it'd be a great Christmas present to find out I

passed,

> but the date they gave me is a few days after Christmas. Just

> wondering - do they sometimes post your results early, or are the

> results only posted on the date you're given? Of course, getting

the

> results before Christmas could also be a bad idea....... Hearing that

> Ohio will soon (next week?) pass their law to require certification.

> Merry Christmas!

[Guest guest]

This is a good question.

As a technician what would you have done in this case?

I brought this up with my class and some of the comments I heard were

Call the patient.

Grab it and destroy it before it got to the patient.

Tell someone higher up.

I have not included my response to these answers as I would like to know

what some of you think the Tech should have done.

Julette Barta CPhT, BSIT, MA Ed.

Pharmacy Instructor

CRY-ROP

PO Box 8640

1214 Indiana Ct.

Redlands, CA 92374

Cell 951-741-4011 Fax 909-793-6901

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