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A pharmacist cannot 'prescribe' a prescription to someone....anyone.
That. ^
The pharmacist could lose his license for doing so. I can imagine the difficulty of the situation the pharmacist faced, but he had both professional and legal obligations to do exactly what was done.
The girl is old enough to carry her own EpiPen. And it's a very good idea for the mother or other family members to carry a backup. This is on the girl and her family.
I would also assume that both the 14 year old teenager and her mother would never leave the home without an epi pen each. I would assume that a 14 year old is bright enough to not eat food labeled with a known allergen. I would assume the mother would bring the food allergy to the restaurant's attention before they began eating. I would also assume that the second the allergy was apparent, the mother would call the Irish version of 911. None of those things happened, which is astounding to me.
I have cousins and friends' children with peanut allergies. I get the procedural run down every time I babysit, take them out for ice cream, or even just down the street to the park. If an allergen is accidentally ingested, use the epi AND call 911 because the epi will only put the reaction on hold. It is a medical emergency even with the epi. Give the epi the second the allergen is ingested because the longer you wait, the less of a chance of survival. By 5, they're carrying their own epi when not at school, but I'm always given an extra just in case. My 5 year old cousin knows to tell the waiter or whoever is giving her food that she has a food allergy before I say a word. This is basic procedure.
Lots of people know the word "epipen." I've heard people say they need one when their tongue gets scratchy due to a mild allergy. Nope. The pharmacist could have had no idea what was happening.
Someone walks in and asks for an epipen, and has no prescription.
What could that MEAN?
What kind of person would DO that?
The person didn't know you needed a prescription for it? Pretty dumb person, eh?
Everyone knows you need a prescription for an epipen!
EVERYONE!
I can see where the pharmacist would be at a total loss, and have to resort to his training to handle that kind of situation!
If you're ever in a situation where you don't know what to do, do what you've been trained to do.
This reminds me of a lawsuit in Chicago back in the late 90's where a guy got shot and his "buddies" left him outside the hospital. (I seem to recall it was gang related). The staff couldn't "legally" go outside and bring him in and he died.
Lol...indeed. Many do not. They can be quite....terse. At any rate, in this case , IMHO, the lifesaving med was wrongly withheld. All opinions about the girl and her mother's lack of preparedness aside, $h1t happens, and the girl needed help. I can't look at this from a standpoint of obeying the rules. Screw the rules.
Don't they have 911 (or equivalent) in Ireland? If she had time to go to the pharmacy, wouldn't it have been faster to call emergency personnel, who could have administered it? It would be illegal for the pharmacist to give them medication without a prescription.
Lol...indeed. Many do not. They can be quite....terse. At any rate, in this case , IMHO, the lifesaving med was wrongly withheld. All opinions about the girl and her mother's lack of preparedness aside, $h1t happens, and the girl needed help. I can't look at this from a standpoint of obeying the rules. Screw the rules.
Bit late to second guess it though....
There is a reason that a doctor's office cannot be located within 500 feet of a pharmacy.
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