News Teenager dies after allergic reaction to peanuts in sauce at Chinese buffet

[Blackveiled]

Pharmacists are medically trained, you can't be giving out medications without knowing their effects on the body. However, this doesn't mean they are going to be a good alternative to a nurse or paramedic. But administration of an EpiPen is a low level emergency medicine for situations like this, and to be honest its irresponsible not to give it when indicated. Like seriously, all you do is take the epipen, remove the safetys and inject on the lateral end of the thigh and hold in place for 10 seconds to allow the medication to go in. Its made to be a simple yet extremely effective life saving intervention.

 

[KMilz]

[...] and to be honest its irresponsible not to give it when indicated.

It's also irresponsible not to have one when you have a condition that may require it, but that's neither here nor there.

Hard to blame someone for looking out for themselves. It's against the law for the pharmacist to give it to someone without a prescription, so why should the pharmacist suffer repercussions to help a total stranger? He has no obligation to them, and I don't think there's any reason to judge him for the choice he made, unless you're judging whether or not you want to go into anaphylactic shock without medication somewhere near his pharmacy.

 

[Slapshot136]

without knowing the patient's history or why they were suffering (who knows, mom might benefit if a random stranger offs her son), I would have to side with the pharmacist on this one - if it's an emergency, call 911 and get an ambulance, or go to an emergency room yourself - there they are prepared to deal with any unintended side effects

also, x2 for not getting a prescription ahead of time and keeping one nearby - it's not like peanuts are so uncommon that the allergy would be unheard of

 

[Solu9]

He has no obligation to them, and I don't think there's any reason to judge him for the choice he made,

That is kinda like saying:
If a man got a heart attack right next to you, you choose not to aid him because you are not obliged to do so.
Furthermore your choice is also based on the possibility that if you actually would aid him, you could break a rib of his, maybe puncture his lung and have a lawsuit on your hands afterwards because the man decides to sue you for violence.

I think either way I would help the man. Even if there is the possibility that I get a minor find or whatever. He needs help.
And don't you think the man in the mentioned scenario would have been better off with you helping him?

That pharmacist should have helped no matter what. If he had had some basic decency the girl would have been alive, and he would have been a hero, at least for that family.
Yes, they should have carried a EpiPen themselves, but in this case they didn't. But the girl could have been saved nonetheless.

 

[Slapshot136]

That is kinda like saying:
If a man got a heart attack right next to you, you choose not to aid him because you are not obliged to do so.
Furthermore your choice is also based on the possibility that if you actually would aid him, you could break a rib of his, maybe puncture his lung and have a lawsuit on your hands afterwards because the man decides to sue you for violence.

not quite - in your scenario, you wouldn't be doing anything illegal by trying to help, while the pharmacist would be doing the following:

1. disregarding the fact that he is at work (a while ago we had an article about a "hero" being fired for doing something helpful but not in their contract: companies want blind loyalty, not helpful people) and thus potentially getting fired or in trouble

2. stealing from the store - those epipen pens can cost $200 or so, and who knows if the patient has the money to pay for it or is even willing to pay for it

3. giving medicine to an unknown person - these are behind-the-counter drugs for a reason: they can have side-effects.. maybe the patient would have a side effect from an epipen and that is why they didn't have one - without looking at the person's history, or atleast being in a hospital that is ready to deal with any potential side effects

 

[FireCat]

Most pharmacies do keep track of when you get your prescriptions. etc...

 

[tom_mai78101]

Most pharmacies do keep track of when you get your prescriptions. etc...

But they only apply to those where you have been prescribed medicine at. If you are near an unfamiliar pharmacy, and you require emergency help, they would most likely not have your prescription in their database.

 

[Solu9]

So it boils down to whether or not the pharmacist is willing to risk his job to help a girl in need. Because he is surely education enough to understand the situation.
Can there really be more than one answer to that question?

 

[FireCat]

But they only apply to those where you have been prescribed medicine at. If you are near an unfamiliar pharmacy, and you require emergency help, they would most likely not have your prescription in their database.

But If you've been prescribed the medicine before. "unfamiliar or not" Mostly pharmacy, can still see that in their database.

 

[Varine]

Pharmacists are medically trained, you can't be giving out medications without knowing their effects on the body. However, this doesn't mean they are going to be a good alternative to a nurse or paramedic. But administration of an EpiPen is a low level emergency medicine for situations like this, and to be honest its irresponsible not to give it when indicated. Like seriously, all you do is take the epipen, remove the safetys and inject on the lateral end of the thigh and hold in place for 10 seconds to allow the medication to go in. Its made to be a simple yet extremely effective life saving intervention.

And the likelihood of a pharmacist knowing this (or more likely, a pharmacy technician which is even lowlier than a pharmacist and probably has about the equivalent of practical medical training) is pretty low. They study the interactions of drugs, not the application.