A US woman who was undergoing In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) was mistakenly given abortion medication instead of the prescribed IVF hormones, leading to the death of her two unborn babies, according to a report by Fox News. Tamika Thomas, a mother of four from Las Vegas, had her Fallopian tubes removed after experiencing two ectopic pregnancies and decided to pursue IVF to have another child. As part of the IVF procedure, her doctor prescribed a vaginal suppository instead of injections. However, when she went to a local CVS pharmacy in North Las Vegas, the pharmacy technicians gave her Misoprostol, which is used for medication abortion instead. Mrs. Thomas experienced severe cramping after taking the wrong medication.
After the incident, she filed a complaint against the CVS Pharmacy with the Nevada State Board of Pharmacy. An investigation revealed a series of mistakes made by the pharmacy. Firstly, they couldn’t read the doctor’s handwriting, so they made a guess and gave her Misoprostol. Additionally, the pharmacists did not explain how to take the medication or inform her about what to expect. Reviewing the medication is a standard protocol, according to a report in Pharmacy Times.
The pharmacy issued a statement apologizing for the incident and claiming that they have comprehensive policies and procedures in place to support prescription safety. They also mentioned that prescription errors are rare but that they take steps to learn from them and improve patient safety.
As a result of the incident, the two pharmacists involved were fined and placed on probation for a year, while the pharmacy itself received a maximum fine of $10,000.
Despite the apology and disciplinary actions, Ms. Thomas, who is still grieving the loss of her unborn babies, stated that the apology will never be enough for her.