Pharmacists, like all health care professionals, are bound by
responsibility to the best of our ability to ensure the health and
safety of every one of our patients. We try to exercise our utmost
skill and care which are augmented (hopefully) by external systems to
achieve this. However, you are all aware that mistakes do happen. Most
of the time these mistakes are small, and a large majority don't even
reach the patient. Then there is that small percentage that cause
devastating harm.
None of us can know what was going on in Eric Cropp's
mind as he checked the calculations of the technician that prepared
Emily Jerry's chemotherapy. From the outside looking in, it's easy to
say that if we were in the situation we would have caught this error. It
appears that there was a perfect storm of circumstances that allowed
the error to continue unchecked all the way to the patient. However,
does he deserve to be thrown in jail over this mistake that clearly was
unintentional?
What are the implications of criminalizing professionals who commit errors?
I think we can all agree that this guy deserved a prison sentence.
60 comments:
For pharmacists like Eric Cropp, I think a jail sentence was extreme and unnecessary. I do believe that a large fine should have been required along with probation/suspension, etc. Not paying careful attention especially when compounding is negligent and should not be taken lightly, however jail time was not warranted. This hopefully was a situation that will bring forth regulations and tighter checks and balances in the compounding world. Robert Courtney was intentionally and selfishly dispensing incorrect compounds and definitely deserved jail time.
When a person is criminalized for their actions, it is implied that their actions were intentional, that they were consciously committed, with full awareness of the consequences and/or with the intention to harm. When a professional is criminalized for committing an error, it seems to imply that the act was of criminal intent. In the case of Robert Courtney, this was obviously the case. However, for those pharmacists like Eric Cropp, who did not commit anything other than an accident - an accident that I believe was only further facilitated (unintentionally, of course) by a flaw in the system - criminalization in the form that Cropp received is absolutely ridiculous. It is understandable to want to place harsh blame - especially when the series of actions led to the death of another human being. In this case, I don't believe all the blame is to be put on solely on Cropp. The punishment should have been distributed over the different members of the pharmacy that were involved, especially for those in upper management positions overlooking the activities of the hospital pharmacy. The fact that the computer system was down, that Cropp had to work in such conditions and was denied a regular work break to which all workers are entitled, etc. are all reasons why I believe that he could not be held solely accountable for the baby's death.
I believe that the action of imprisoning Eric Cropp was unnecessary because it was an honest human mistake. I am not stating that it is okay that he failed to catch the mistake made by the technician that ended with the death of a little girl but other than this one big mistake he had a great professional record. Every pharmacist is going to make mistakes when they work. We just hope to catch them before they can cause any harm to the patients. I do not believe that it is only Eric's fault because he was understaffed for the day which put more pressure on top of an already high pressure job. He is an honest man and lives everyday trying to provide quality healthcare to many patients. He made an honest mistake and the price he paid was devastating. Taking away his license permanently was a big mistake in my mind because he is still a great pharmacist and now he not only has to live with the guilt of causing the death of another human being but he also has to live without being able to help others, which is the reason that we decide that we want to pursue the career of pharmacy in the first place.
I think the imprisonment of Eric Cropp was extreme and unnecessary. It was an honest human mistake that occurred because of extreme conditions. He was understaffed, did not have a work break that is required, the computer system was down, and he was under extreme stress due to the work conditions and high volume of patients that day. Robert Courtney, on the other hand, deserved to be imprisoned. He caused harm to patients for his own monetary gain.
Eric Cropp sshould not have gone to jail. The other punishments he recieved are up for debate and can be considered appropriate. Making a mistake should not result in jail time, even with the tragic results. The case with Robert Courtney is a completely different matter. This guy should be thrown in jail and it should be for life. There is no excuse for what this guy did. He did this intentionally for years. He doesn't deserve to ever see the light of day again in my opinion.
This situation is really unfortunate, and it’s sad to think that these mistakes do happen in practice, but we do all make mistakes and those mistakes can unfortunately lead to huge consequences. I’m not sure what the proper course of action should be in situations like this. Putting myself in the pharmacist’s place, I’d be devastated that I made such a huge mistake. I can’t imagine losing my license, getting jail time, or being sued for an honest mistake. On the other hand, we go to four years of pharmacy school and sometimes an additional year or two of residency for the very reason that we can accomplish these precise tasks with an extremely low error rate (and hopefully error free). Regardless of the legal action that may or may not ensue, I think these situations need to be taken as learning experiences. It somewhat worries me that a technician has the responsibility of making chemotherapy drugs or other drugs that are high-risk. I think Emily’s law is a step in the right direction, requiring that technicians have a certain level of training. I even think drugs on the high-risk list should only be under the care of the pharmacist with no involvement of a technician. If it were me, I would be extremely afraid to check a high-risk drug made by a technician since there’s really no way you can know if the calculations on the paper are the actual amounts used or if they were measured correctly. I realize that would put a lot more responsibility on pharmacists who already have overwhelming responsibilities, and it may require additional staff members, but when these medications have potentially fatal effects, I think a pharmacist needs to be involved every step of the way.
Let's call it a spade a spade by saying that no one (except for the named persona non grata) intentionally wants to cause harm to their patients by giving the wrong dosage, drug or other incorrections. The horrible mistake that Mr. Eric Cropp was involved in was not done intentionally but was the result of carelessness. And his punishment (besides the jail time) suffices. For him to wake up every day with guilt would be enough even without all the fine, community service, etc...
Mistakes happen all the time, every day, everywhere and to everyone. Even the most experienced and well-schooled professionals make them. And unfortunately, people get hurt. So should each of these cases end up in jail time for those involved?
I believe certain punishment such as demotion, loss of job, fines, public shame through media coverage and community services should be enough sans going to jail. Let me give you a perfect example of something that happened in my sister’s workplace. The head of the pharmacy department at San Francisco General Hospital did not catch an error made by a nurse for an infant which was ten times the right dosage. The patient took the IV drug and had adverse reactions. Luckily, there was time to stop the medication and nothing happened to the child.
The result: the head was “asked to accept early retirement” after a long staff meeting. This was a nice clean and simple case sans all the unnecessary hardship of jail. And this should be emulated for similar situations.
I do not agree that Eric Cropp should have been imprisoned for his mistake. Given the circumstances during the work day, it is understandable that a mistake as such could happen. I think jail time was unnecessary, however , I do feel that with a mistake this serious, some type of punishment is necessary. I think as a pharmacist it is your job to prevent events like this. Yes, we are human and make mistakes but at the same time we are trained to keep things like this from happening. They are trained to work under "stressful" situations or even multiple stressors at a time. I believe a sentence of probation would have been sufficient but jail time is too much. What does that really even do? Is there any benefit for putting him away into a jail cell? His mistake was unintentional, he did not want that to happen. When you imprison someone, it is because they do something wrong on purpose. I think it was unfair and unjust to put him in prison. As mentioned in class, he still has to deal with the tragedy by speaking of his mistake at pharmacy meetings. I think that it is also unnecessary for this type of community service. Also, I feel like it is a very big responsibility for a technician. With this situation, the technician calculated something wrong. However, the calculations could have been exactly right and still could have caused error by putting the contents in the bag. The pharmacist could have checked the correct calculations and could have assumed the contents in the IV bag were right. With this, I think it is unjust and not beneficial to imprison a pharmacists for such a mistake.
Criminalizing a pharmacist who overlooked a technician error while enduring high-stress circumstances is unthinkable. Eric Cropp was very unlike Robert Courtney. This was the only mistake on his record and he would have made sure to correct the problem had he been able to catch it. Though this mistake should not be taken likely due to the loss of a child's life, a jail sentece is unwarranted, especially since it was completely unintentional and the pharmacist's record was otherwise clean. In fact, though he was the pharmacist in charge and carried the liability, I think that some sort of disciplinary action should have been taken against the technician who made the error. Though the pharmacist should have caught the mistake, it was her mistake that ultimately led to a pharmacist loosing both his license and his freedom. In cases such as this, technicians should be held partially responsible, and to an even higher degree when it comes to the loss of a life. Granted, Robert Courtney deserved his punishment. But Eric Cropp's case should have been more thoroughly considered before any disciplinary actions were taken.
I personally have never heard of this case but after reading it honestly made me a little scared to be a pharmacist one day. We are all human and at some point in our careers one day we will make a mistake, but it is our hope that it will not be life threatening. Eric Cropp had a spotless career, this was an unfortunate event and I think his punishment was extreme. We are to learn by our mistakes not dwell on them for years and years. There could have been a more suitable punishment for his unconscious mistake. But at the same time it is hard looking at the situation from the family’s point of view. The last thing they are worried about is putting themselves in Cropp’s shoes. So out of anger they chose to push for imprisonment. So from this side of things it would be hard to say what a fair punishment would be.
After reading the document about Eric Cropp and his mistake that caused a child her life, my heart goes out to the family but also the pharmacist himself. I can't even imagine how guilty he must feel for his mistake and just living with that is a punishment in itself. I do believe that a punishment is warranted in this situation such as a license suspension and possibly a fine, however I think jailtime is excessive. No human being is perfect and people will make mistakes. Just because this mistake happened to reach the patient and ultimately kill them, Eric Cropp is dealing with his mistake as is and shouldn't have been jailed on top of it. Granted a punishment that will warrant the pharmacist to be more aware is in order, jailtime is unfair and unnecessary.
As I read the article about Eric Cropp and young Emily Jerry who lost her life, my heart sank into my chest. This is a tragic example of a medication error horror story that happens in the medical field. I feel bad for not only the Jerry family who lost their young daughter, but also the pharmacist. I do not feel that I could sleep at night knowing that I had a part in such a sad situation. I know that Eric Cropp was there to check the prescription and make sure that it was calculated and prepared properly, however the circumstances aided in the miss fill to pass his inspection. I do not feel that he should be placed in prison for the unintentional act. The computer system was not working properly, he was short staffed, and being rushed by the nurse to get the solution prepared. It does not excuse the miss fill, however all odds were against him and his verification process. If he had deliberately bypassed a warning or just not paid attention, I could see perusing criminal charges, but he made an honest mistake. I feel the Board of pharmacy acted correctly revoking his license, giving him fines, and even community service, but I think placing him prison with criminals was wrong. He does not deserve to be locked away with people who have committed violent act and sold drugs and robbed people.
I feel that Eric Cropp's punishment was extreme. Unfortunately, mistakes like that happen, and seeing as it was a mistake, I'm sure he is already tearing himself apart for his error. I understand that the mother is upset, and wants to be able to bring justice to her child, but demanding jail time, probation, etc is just absurd. Nowadays, retails stores are pushing their pharmacies to do so many prescriptions, not have as much staff, perform vaccines, counselling, and call doctor's offices while carefully checking prescriptions. All of those events create distractions and chaos and lots of things get lost in the shuffle. I really thing he was treated unfairly. I am not saying that what happened was okay or excusable, I just feel his punishment was over the top. However, as for Robert Courtney purposefully diluting patients medications for profit, that is unacceptable. His attitude of pretending to care for his patients gives us a bad name. He was fully aware of what he was doing, and lying about his income. I think he definitely deserved jail time.
Lora Steffner
I feel that the punishment this pharmacist received was incredibly harsh and (no pun intended) over-kill. Mistakes happen every single day of all different severities. This day in this pharmacy was no different. I have to wonder if he would have received the same sentence if the mistake had not occurred with a young girl? To me it read that his sentence was resulted from an understandably emotional parent, someone experiencing that state of loss would make a convincing plea because of the wrought emotion they are feeling, they also tend to remain closed off to how it happened, why it happened, how the offender feels afterward. It was not done purposely or maliciously, so did he really deserve to lose all rights to practice, jail time, home jail time, on top of community service? Not to mention he will continue to feel guilty and think about the fatal mistake that took a young child's life. He felt remorse. He wasn't alone in failing to recognize the mistake. So many things were working against him, from the article I'm unsure all these things were fully taken into account. Repercussions to his actions are necessary, I agree with that but in this case based on the article I do not think the severe punishment he received was completely fair.
The situation with Eric Cropp was unfortunate, but I think the imprisonment was necessary because it costs a patient’s life. Even though the action was unintentional, however, it happened and Cropp failed to uphold his job as a pharmacist. As human, we are prone to make mistakes, but that is why we go through schooling, training, and even residency to minimize these errors. Every job is stressful, especially in the health care field, but as a professional, we should be able to perform and keep our composure under any tough situations. We should always act on the patient’s best interests and safety. Cropp, unfortunately, failed to do this due to understaffed and technology difficulties were not the proper excuses for a patient to die and for the family members to always suffer the pain of this death. Therefore, I think the 6 months imprisonment was necessary.
For the Robert Courtney’s situation, I think this was very unprofessional and against the law. But I think the crime that he committed was only “breaking the law”. His punishments would probably be probation and suspension of license.
- Tam Pham
I understand that Eric Cropp's mistake was not intentional and could have happened to everybody. However, I feel that his punishment was not too harsh. He was jailed for 6 months for a mistake that took a child's life. If I were the parent, I would ask for a more severe punishment. It was a bad situation with lots of tragic consequences. It's impossible to turn back time and fix things now, but we all need to learn from his mistake.
I feel that pharmacists like Eric Cropp shouldn't receive jail time. Granted he made a costly mistake but it was an unintentional mistake that anyone could have made. I feel that there should be some sort of punichment such as a fine, suspension, and maybe community service. Community service would really help Eric or people like him spread the word about medication errors. It would help alert people about how easy they are to make and help with prevention. Giving professionals jail time could really hurt certain medical professions. Why would someone want to enter a profession that could cause them jail time over a simple mistake, when everyone makes mistakes? But, I do feel that people such as Robert Courtney do deserve jail time. He was intentionally doing something wrong and knew the consequences. I can completely understand punishing him and others that are intentionally doing wrong.
Mistakes happen in every aspect of life by even the most skilled, knowledgeable professional, or due to technology, such as the "robot" at Walgreens. I do not believe that Eric Cropp deserved to be imprisoned over his unintentional mistake. He already has to live the rest of his life with the guilt of knowing that he caused of the death of Emily Jerry. He should not have been sentenced to 6 months in prison and 6 months of home confinement. I believe the loss of his license, $5,000 fine, and the humiliating community service was punishment enough. From my experience in a high pressure, stressful retail environment, I have learned that, unfortunately, mistakes can happen very easily. I have seen pharmacists work 12-14 hour days and only have time to take a 15-20 minute lunch break, because of computer problems, lack of help, technicians misinform patients, etc. I agree with the need for mandatory training and education for technicians, especially if they are involved in compounding. In one of our previous topics, we discussed high turnover rates of pharmacy technicians, and how they are considered entry level jobs. I was a technician for 4 years, and saw many techs come and go, and some were ignorant and ambivalent about their jobs, and therefore made careless mistakes. Many pharmacists rely on techs to assist with preparing prescriptions. Although it is ultimately the pharmacist's responsibility to ensure that the "right drug gets to the right patient at the right time", it definitely helps to have an educated technician they can trust. I think criminalizing professionals that commit honest, unintentional errors will create fear and additional pressure on the profession, and therefore result in more mistakes that may go unreported. It is very sad that the Jerry family lost their child, and Eric Cropp's career as a pharmacist was destroyed. I think there should have been more focus on how to learn from Cropp's mistake. Workload, technological issues, shortage of help, lack of breaks/meals, time constraints, etc. are problems that currently need to be addressed in pharmacy in order to prevent fatal errors such as this.
I don't believe he deserves to be thrown in jail over anything unintentional. I think errors like that, are far too easy to make and the system needs to be built around preventing them with enough checks and balances or "failsafes" to ensure errors like that can be caught, even in most "pefect storm" type situations, which really do happen more often than most people realize. I think people like the guy in the second article do deserve to go to jail and lose their license as well. Professionals are still human like everyone else, and we all make mistakes. We should all work together to eliminate chances of those errors impacting human lives. We can't hold one person accountable for something like that. The implications of this could be much discouragement to people considering entering any profession with such risks as this. We need to encourage more people to enter the healthcare profession, to help each other out. The more help we have, the stronger our safety system can become and the more ensured we will be of a system that can find errors and fix them before they reach a patient.
Evan Palmieri
Eric Cropp definitely made a mistake; however, it was an honest mistake. I agree with Mr. Cohen's statement that it was an unintentional accident and that he should not be incarcerated for such a mistake. I can understand the anger and hurt that the family must feel, but their actions might have been a little drastic. A pharmacist is a human being that has the potential to make errors. No one is one hundred percent perfect in their profession and there will always be mistakes made, regardless if you're a doctor or a bus driver. It's inevitable. With all of the circumstances of the day, I can see where this mistake might not have been caught. It still is no excuse because even during the business day, it's still someone's life, but again, it was unintentional. The suffering Eric all ready experiences from knowing he killed a 2 year old is enough to haunt him for the rest of his life. Adding jail time, revoking his license, and forcing him to complete community service is too much. I also agree with everyone else that Robert Courtney's was different. It was intentional and therefore, he definitely deserves jail time. These situations are unfortunate, but we all should remember that pharmacists are still human and have equal chances of making mistakes. I sympathize for Eric Cropp.
Aaron Shaver
I, like most, think that jail time was an extreme punishment. Errors are always a possibility although they are extremely scary to consider. Prisons house criminals who have done things like murder or hurt with premeditated thoughts. Eric Cropp likely did not come into work knowing that he was going to make a fatal error that day. To put him in a place where violent criminals are housed because of an error on the job is unjust. I think he should have been punished by fines, strict monitoring for long periods of time to determine job/license eligibility, and/or some type of continuing education training in relation to the specific error.
Human beings are imperfect creatures. It's known fact that we mess things up from time to time. Some mistakes bear harsher repercussions than others, and this can be seen with the case of Eric Cropp. Here is a pharmacist who was probably very good at what he did (at least judging by the article that was written somewhat on his behalf). One mistake, one simple act of negligence on Cropp's part cost him his job and so much more. Yes, he should have been more careful and he should have caught the mistake that his technician had made but this act was in no way criminal. That being said, I do not think that he should have gone to jail for this mistake. Sadly, Cropp's mistake led to the loss of a life - a little girl named Emily Jerry. It was a costly mistake but he did not intentionally do any harm to Emily. That is why I think he was unjustly imprisoned for his mistake. Another issue I have with this situation is that nowhere in that article did it mention how the technician was punished. I think there should have been (assuming there wasn't) some punishment assigned to the technician as well. I realize that Eric Cropp was the practicing pharmacist and that it was his job to catch the error, but something has to be said for the error of the incorrect concentration in the chemotherapy drug. Some of the blame should have been placed on the technician as well.
I think through my argument in the first paragraph, I somewhat outlined what I think are the implications used to criminalize professionals. In the case of Robert Courtney, there is no doubt in my mind that it was the right thing to prosecute him. Courtney knowingly manipulated the nature of the drugs for personal gain! He had no regard for the health of the patients and quite frankly he didn't care if they lived or died. One of the quotes from the article said something to the effect that Courtney knew the statistics of the disease states, and since those statistics were in favor of the patients dying, he saw no harm in dispensing lower than necessary doses to those patients. He deserved very sentence he got. The two stories presented here couldn't be more different.
I am very discouraged about the sentence that Eric Cropp received from the judge in the Ohio case. While reading the article I was interested to see if the judge's ruling was mentioned but I could not find it. I would be very interested in hearing the judge's justification for jail time. The author states that the young girl's mother was on a quest to have Cropp's license revoked and then to have him imprisoned. Now having his license revoked is 1 possible, and some may say reasonable, punishment. But jail time? When the error was unintentional, he himself did not actually make the drug incorrectly, and the system was just as much as fault? Seems to me the judge could have made a ruling with far greater implications. He could have implored the Ohio Pharmacy Board to create stricter guidelines for pharmacy workforces so mistakes like this don't happen again. Instead, it seems to me, that he almost wanted to make an example of Cropps, and his thinking was that is how to prevent this from happening in the future. But this is shortsighted. This makes professionals paranoid and scared when they are already dealing with life and death situations as it is. There is no need to make the situation even more stressful. I hope these cases are few and far between.
~Chris Pavero
It's hard to think about, but I would have to side with the minority here, in that I agree with the sentence that Eric Cropp received, to an extent. Almost any healthcare career carries with it the danger of errors resulting in patient morbidity; this is a consideration that is taken into account by those who work in these fields. In the case of Mr. Cropp, it is gravely unfortunate that this mistake both occurred and resulted in the loss of life in this instance. However, this is one of the very reasons why pharmacists are in place and why they are trusted and compensated in the way that they are. Yes, he was the victim of terrible circumstances, but it was his job to handle that pressure and maintain the quality and safety of the medications that were under his control. I don't want to be a downer, and it is incredibly sad that this event took place, but that is the way that I see it, even though I don't wish for any mistakes to occur.
In the case of Robert Croft, his sentence was also deserved, but it can provide a dichotomy for the first case. Considering the differences in sentences that the two received lends itself to the way that I view this issue. Both pharmacists were culpable for the errors that occurred, however, their punishments were not the same. Obviously, there were differing circumstances such as length of time of the offense and others, but the principal remains the same. Both deserve to be punished, but the punishments must be doled out on a case by case basis, which takes into consideration such things as: the events surrounding the mistake, the pharmacist's direct involvement, the nature of the error, the result of the error, and criminal intent, among others. It's a tough reality, but mistakes are always going to occur, some more drastic than others, and someone has to be responsible for their consequences.
- Jesse R Alvarado
I agree with most of us that the jail time for Mr. Cropp was too much. I believe that Mr. Croft's punishment was not enough. His sentence should be a life sentence for the period of time and intent he had.
My biggest issue if where the blame should be in Mr. Cropps situation. I feel that the company he worked for is at fault as much as Mr. Cropp himself was. Companies need to understand how much work is too much for one person and hire enough staff to handle an appropriate work day. I have worked in hospitals that have amazing healthcare professionals being pushed to their limits simply because the company they work for won't hire any more help. This has cause many errors and I have sat through many meetings discussing errors being made and get sick when so many errors are due to not enough staff.
I applaude the NCBOP for saying the pharmacists should not check more than 150 scripts per pharmacist per shift. That is the type of policy that needs to be enforced in every realm of pharmacy. The key word being enforced. We can talk about the issue all we want, but until it is enforced for employers to hire by these standards these events are going to happen far too often. We can just hope they are not as extreme as Mr. Cropp's situation
I agree with most of the comments made by my peers, so I will not rehash what they have already said.
That out of the way, I find the conclusions that Dr. Cohen describes about Cropp being an "easy target," and a way to avoid tackling to real problems in our error prone healthcare system both cynical and disturbing astute. I find myself wondering the same question as they; what measures have been taken to ensure that these types of errors do not occur in the future?
I’m not sure if this has been the norm for a considerable length of time or a new development in the profession, but it seems that the practice of pharmacy in many respects has become a high-throughput operation. I have seen this at the 400+ daily script processing CVS that I used to work at. When a pharmacist is checking over 30 scripts per hour, how can they possibly scrutinize the accuracy, much less the appropriateness, of each prescription?
I feel that one aspect of this problem that was understated in this paper is the importance of technician competence. I have seen in several pharmacies that to be a technician you basically need to be a warm body that can count by 5s. (Bear in mind my experience in almost entirely retail.) I feel that for the profession of pharmacy to progress, there needs to be an equal advance is the expertise and ability in our technicians. I have been told, and I agree, that a great technician is worth their weight in gold to a pharmacist.
From most of the comments I have read, there is a general consensus that Cropp received an unfair judgment. What I was wondering as I read the article about Cropp is what power Pharmacy organizations have when issues like this occur. Could any intervention from these organization have prevented the Pharmacist from receiving a jail time?
Pharmacist are increasingly being overloaded as mentioned already in one of the comments. This is an obvious fact which should have been the concern of lawmakers. It would have been a better decision to fine or suspend a pharmacy that is constantly violating the number of prescriptions per pharmacist per day instead of jailing this overwhelmed Pharmacist. Surprisingly the Hospital Pharmacy involved in this death situation was untouched in this ordeal. How is that possible? How can these Pharmacies also be held accountable when such errors occur? These are questions that we hope will be addressed so that Pharmacists and their corresponding Pharmacies will work towards working conditions that can prevent such catastrophic events from occurring.
.... Vida Ohene Agyeman
In situations such as Eric Croop’s, I do not believe that jail time was the appropriate action. He was not purposefully altering medication with the intention of hurting patients. He made an honest mistake in checking a drug that he did not even prepare to be dispensed to the patient. I do believe it important to have some punishments for this type of mistake such as fines, suspension, or community outreach. Without some sort of punishment pharmacists would not be as meticulous when checking prescriptions and this could lead to many more situations such as this. On the other hand, people like Robert Courtney deserve the jail time they get. The intentional altering of a drug that he dispensed to numerous patients is against every ethical aspect of a pharmacist. People like this should never be allowed to work in the profession again and be forever in debt with these families. I think we must draw a line between honest mistakes and criminal activity in the profession when it comes down to dealing with jail time.
Although the death of a little girl was very tragic, Eric Cropp should not have received a jail sentence. He made a human mistake that could have been made by anyone. Unfortunately, his mistake caused the death of a patient. I agree that he should have received a suspension and fine, but the jail sentence was extreme. If pharmacists and doctors are jailed for making one simple mistake, then future generations will be hesitant to enter these professions. In the case of Robert Courtney, I believe he deserved jail time because he had criminal intentions.
-Curtis Austin
In situations like that of Eric Cropp, I feel that the punishment was very harsh. He already has to live with the fact that his errors caused the death of a young girl but to make him do jail time and years of probation was too much. In my opinion I think probation and the fees would have been sufficient enough. When it comes to Robert Courtney, I think the punishment is fair. He purposely diluted medications so that he could make more money and I don't know how anyone could do that. People in the health profession are supposed to be there to help patients get better. It's so sad to know that there are some people out there who will do anything to make money, even if it means harming others. I think that when it comes to jailing pharmacists for errors that occur by accident then it makes people feel like no one can be trusted and makes them lose faith in health professionals.
Sarah Martin
I believe Eric Cropp received a cruel and unusual punishment. He not only got his license permanently revoked, but he was thrown into prison for six months, forced to wear an ankle monitor upon his release, and sentenced to 400 hours of community service. I do not think the punishment fit the crime. Although Emily's story is tragic and my heart breaks for her family, I do not believe jail time was necessary. Eric is human, and he made an honest mistake. His intentions were to help, not hurt this little girl. Yes, Eric should be punished for his mistake, but jail time is unwarranted. People are not perfect and are going to make mistakes, its a sad, unfortunate fact of life. Dr's make mistakes that result in patient death all the time, and they are not thrown in prison. It was an honest, unintentional mistake, he shouldn't be treated as a criminal who is a danger to society. I mean an ankle monitor, seriously?
I believe criminalizing professionals is warranted if if a criminal act was committed. In my opinion, a criminal act is intentional; Eric Cropp's mistake was not intentional. It was very unfortunate what happened to the little girl and the mistake should not be overlooked but I do not believe that jail time was necessary. I especially disagree with the three month house arrest he received because this to me says that he cannot be trusted and that he is a danger to his community which was not the case. I do believe he should have gotten fined and had his license suspended. Robert Courtney on the other hand, had every intention of doing what he did. His jail time was definitely deserved.
I agree with the others who say that Eric Cropp should recieve some type of punishment but not necessarily jail. He was not actively trying to hurt anyone. I also think it is aweful that he has to go around and then relive the experience over and over. However,Robert was intentially trying to harm others. He was not upholding his code to serve others. That should require a more severe promise.
Humans make mistake. This unfortunately was a mistake that caused the death of a young child. However, did this mistake require the one who made it, Eric Cropp, a jail sentence. No, because it mistake, human error. Something that you and I do daily. I think the real crime in this is the system that was in place that wasn't there to account for the chance of human error. In reading the article it seemed like a perfect storm happened to allow this to happen. The computer system was down and the pharmacist was understaffed for a normal day. A day when the pharmacist needed extra help because not everything was working properly he had less than normal. You could pin this on the person who short-staffed the pharmacy on a day where it should of been over-staffed to help prevent problems like this that are more likely because of the circumstance. I feel like this problem relates to an even bigger problem in the health care in that these businesses are more worried about making a dollar than the concerns of the patient. In short, it was more the hospital's fault for providing the circumstances than Eric Cropp's fault.
Evan Medford
I believe that there should be some sort of protection for pharmacists who actually make a human mistake. Eric Copp made a mistake and is now being punished, in my opinion, to much. I know what he did lead to someones death and he should see consequences, but we must remember that we are all human and we all make mistakes. We dont see many surgeons getting jail time because someone died on their table, so I believe pharmacists should have this same kind of protection when handling medications such as chemotherapy drugs.
I do not believe that that Eric Cropp should have gotten such an extensive punishment. Yes, he did something wrong, he messed up, but it was far from intentional. I do believe that there should be repercussions because of the tragic event that his mistake caused, however I do not believe he should have gotten as much as he did. This was a tragic mistake that could happen to any of us. We are human and humans make mistakes. Like I said, there should be consequences for his actions, however, I do not believe his life should be ruined because of his one simple human mistake.
-Brittany Rector
After reading the article I felt horrible for the family who lost their child and the pharmacist. Mistakes in drug doses are more common than expected. There needs to be motions set in place so that extra checks can deter this from happening. The punishment seemed overly harsh because the mistake can be placed on numerous people in placing the prescription. If this was done on purpose or because of laziness then I can see a harsher punishment such as jail time but everyone makes mistakes. The error can tragically result in a lost life. Better checks and balances can lessen the chance of this happening.
-Jay Billingsley
Maybe it's because I'm biased toward wanting pharmacists to not be jailed for a mistake, since I'm very much imperfect, but I think a pharmacist shouldn't be jailed like Eric Cropp for making a mistake that would eventually happen at some point in his career. We are imperfect people and shouldn't be expected to be perfect. Medicine is a tricky and potentially dangerous realm, which does require a level of caution that each of us as pharmacists need to remember, but even with every precaution covered, there will always be an error that will penetrate the barriers and lead to an unexpected outcome. I think a strike system for serious errors would be a great way to control errors. It will help the pharmacist realize he isn't perfect and help him put up defenses against future errors. Maybe a 3 to 5 strike system. If you reach the limit of errors, you get your license revoked temporarily. I think I've heard of such as system, but I feel like that is a fair way to keep errors at a minimum without overreacting to them. If all pharmacists were jailed for a first mistake, I'm sure there would be a lot of them in jail.
I think that the punishment given to Eric Cropp was too harsh of a punishment considering the fact that it was accepted to be as unintentional as can be. Yes, I know it was a mistake that cost someone her life but I don't think it was too much for them to permanently suspend his license. They could have suspended it for a while. He should be blamed to some extend but we also have to take into consideration all the things that contributed to this expensive error, some of which were beyond his control.
Unlike Cropp, people like Robert Courtney deserve to be thrown in jail to pay for all their inhumane acts, which were done intentionally
A pharmacist who made a mistake should not have the same sentencing (jail) as someone who intentionally tries to kill someone, carelessly or not. I agree with probation, fines, community service or even limits to their license because without punishment, healthcare professionals would not be as cautious or take errors seriously.
Upon entering an important profession as a pharmacist, it is expected to come with extreme reponsibilities. Pharmacists are responsible for everything that goes on inside the pharmacy. We are expected to make zero error when dispensing medication, but we are all human beings and mistakes do happen. Sometimes it's out of our control and sometimes it's just careless mistake. I think Eric Cropp's case, seeing that so many different things happened in the pharmacy that day, we cannot put such intense punishment on Eric. I don't think it was fair for Eric to be given this sentence despite the situation given.
Sandy One
I think Eric Corpp’s conviction was unjust purely based on emotional conviction instead of fact based judicial process. Even though he did not make the actual mistake of calibrating the IV drug incorrectly, he took responsibility as a professional for not detecting the mistake under the circumstances. I think the hospital should have also stepped up and taking responsibility for the mishap and not put blame on the pharmacist for this error. He had to work under the worst conditions that a pharmacist could be faced and the hospital did nothing about their failure to provide functioning computer system to avoid this error. I empathize with the family for their lost but jailing some for making an accidental professional error and taking their license is very extreme and very unnecessary.
But Robert R. Courtney on the other hand, made deliberate dilutions to chemo-drugs to cheat the system and therefore deserved to be jailed for his actions. He went against the professional code of ethics deliberately put patients in harms way.
Daniel Prah-Ennin
The most apparent issue with criminalizing professionals is that their records inevitably become scarred for the remainder of their careers. Errors will always be errors, however if committed [without shadow of a doubt] unintentionally by a pharmacist, it seems to me that jailing them proves a bit harsh, rash, and unnecessary. Fines and whatnot should be deemed more than appropriate, perhaps in addition to a period of probation or suspension [depending upon situational circumstances], but reprehension beyond that should seriously be reconsidered. On the other hand, intentional and deliberate mistreatment in handling medications and the dispensing of said medications obviously deserves criminalization.
-James Agtuca
I do not believe Eric Cropp deserved jail time. He made a fatal mistake and definitely deserved to lose his license however his punishment did not fit his crime. Going to jail accomplished absolutely nothing besides somewhat satisfying the mother of the child and other sympathetic onlookers. I think this should be lesson to all of us, pharmacists and students, that no matter how busy your pharmacy is, you are ultimately responsible for the health and safety of your patients and you shouldn’t compromise someone’s life or your license just to meet a deadline. Accuracy is far more important than quantity you are ultimately responsible for yours and your technicians actions.
-Jessica Osteen
In the busy and stressful atmosphere like a pharmacy it is no surprise that mistakes do occasionally happen. Most of the time the mistakes are fixed before the patient receives it. Eric Cropp made a compounding mistake. I feel that in cases like Eric Cropp’s jail time was unnecessary. He did not intentionally compound the wrong amount of medication. I feel that jail time is for people who intentionally do harm to others and this was not the case. He does not deserve to be in jail. I feel that he should have had his pharmacy license taken away for a given amount of time and fined. This will cause people to become more aware of mistakes without causing people to be paranoid that they are going to make a mistake and be thrown in jail. I feel that it should be a requirement that two pharmacists check each drug. This may be a sacrifice in time but it will reduce the amount of mistakes made. I feel that Robert Courtney should be in jail and should be there the rest of his life. His selfishness caused him to harm other people and he consciously chose to do it.
Amanda Elliott
Whats the difference between taking someones life as he did versus involuntary manslaughter by a distracted driver. Being busy and shorthanded are part of most everyday life. apac
I agree with the class in that jail is a pretty extreme sentence for an honest mistake. I feel like this is a reality check to health professionals that you need to always be on your game. You have to always be alert and diligent in checking medications before dispensing them. We all get tired and overworked but, this is an example of no matter your state, a person's life is in your hands. As a pharmacist, you have the responsibility to make sure the medication you are dispensing is correct for your patients.
Certainly for Robert Courtney, his sentence serves him well. He intentionally diluted medications, for profit, at the expense of patient health and he didn't even attempt to vouch for his innocence. On the other hand, Eric Cropp did not intentionally harm anyone. Although his mistake was of the same merit with similar consequence, his intentions were not malevolent. It seems a little strange considering "intentions" in a court of law, but it is and has been a huge factor in many criminal cases in the United States for centuries. The repercussions of being charged with malpractice in pharmacy are detrimental to the pharmacist in question. I personally do not find it justifiable to imprison someone or take away their professional license for making one, unintentional mistake. But I do find it reasonable and encouraging that professionals, who disregard their oath to do all in their power to protect patients, can be held personally responsible for the health of patients.
After reading the article regarding to Eric’s case, I personally think that Eric’s sentence is too extreme because this was an honest mistake and unintentional. First of all, this incident was not only due to Eric’s error, but also the pharmacy technician’s error. Eric is not God and his mistake is a pure human error and can be repeated by any human. Although the mistake is unintentional, the result is unfortunately devastating by the death of the child. This is tragic for the family of course; yet, the solution of this situation should be focusing on preventing such an error from reoccurring instead of punishing Eric. Sadly, in reality, as the article stated, there are no efforts to prevent errors from happening in the hospital and Eric was imprisoned, fined, and lost his license.
Diep Phan
Strange how doctors have powerful lobbies on Capitol Hill to fight for them and nurses have unions to cover for them as well but we pharmacists have no such benefits. And the pharmacist organizations that are supposed to stand for us actually would punish us for even unintended mistakes which EVERYONE makes.
Is it high time for pharmacists to form similar entities that doctors and nurses have always enjoyed?
I believe that jail should be reserved for people who are a threat to the community. Our jails are filled with actual criminals who intentionally go out and exert harm on individuals. In this case, yes he was negligent because of being overly distracted, so take away his license and put the malpractice insurance to work. If he cant practice, he poses no threat to the community.
For fellow compounders, the very name of Robert Courtney should make our teeth curl with disgust! His unprofessional crimes against humanity bring shame to us all. But to equate him with Eric Cropp is paramount stupidity. His case was premeditated murder while Eric Cropp's was unintended manslaughter. BIG DIFFERENCE!!!
Mr. Courtney should be behind bars while Mr. Cropp's shame and community service suffice. The very fact that he has to wake up every morning with guilt on his shoulders which will torment him for the rest of his life is fair punishment enough sans jail time.
I feel that the most severe punishment that should be allowed to be given to a pharmacist that made an honest mistake would be to take away their license. Jail time for the pharmacist is way too harsh of a punishment. They made an honest mistake just like any other person would. Their career would probably be over anyway if they were given jail time because I am sure it would be hard for them to find a pharmacy job once they get out.
Jeff Auten
From reading the article, while Eric is responsible for the error as the pharmacist, it seems that he was also caught in a very public arena. It would be interesting to compare how pharmacists in similar situations, but less public, were disciplined.
Clearly, Eric did not have intent to harm Emily or any other patient. When we became a pharmacist he agreed to take on full responsibility of everything that occurs in the pharmacy and as a result is responsible for the error made by the technician. With that said, he should not be solely responsible for what happened. Eric was not provided with the adequate environment to safely carry out his job. The hospital, in which he worked, should be held responsible for the shortage of help and the unreliable computer system. In addition, the bedside staff, which worked in a specialized area and would be familiar with the treatments provided to their patients, should have also had some safety checkpoints.
I do think it was appropriate to pass Emily’s Law as a result of this tragedy, requiring further education for pharmacy technicians. While the pharmacist has overall responsibility in a pharmacy, having technicians with more education will aide in medicine safety and play an important role in lessening medicinal errors.
The toxic pharmacist was full of intent and deserved a prison sentence to match.
I don't feel that the punishment fit the crime for Mr. Cropp. During the class discussion someone made the point that the jail time and house arrest could have been to make an example out his neglect. The guy from the other article deserves a harsh punishment. Mr. Courtney intended to do the things that he did and he did this for years. He didn't make a judgement error, he intended to dilute many patients prescriptions over long periods of time.
There are mistakes everywhere in being human, and no matter whom makes that mistake, they are and should be held responsible for it. Pharmacists, or any professional health care provider, need to make sure they are preventing any mistakes on compounded drugs which can lead to death of patients.
Responsibility is one of the most important factors of being professional. Therefore, I think that Eric Cropp is responsible for the mistake he made, regardless of his excuses. However, imprisonment wasn’t the best punishment for him. Jail time should be given to someone who attempted to harm others intentionally. Eric Cropp’s mistake that led to death of a little girl is very tragic, and he is already in guilt of being aware of it for rest of his life. Nothing can heal the broken hearts of family who lost their family member. Eric Cropp needs to keep showing his guilt to the family for the rest of his life. That is even harsher punishment than just few months of period of jail time.
It is difficult for me to rationalize the harsh and punitive charges against Eric Cropp. His one mistake, although it led to a tragedy, shouldn’t have led to jail time; however, I do agree with the court costs, fine and community service. After making such a mistake, Mr. Cropp may have been a better pharmacist. He didn’t have the chance to prove this, because the Ohio State Board of Pharmacy permanently revoked his license. If one mistake is all it takes to lose your license, how many people would chose pharmacy as a career?
Criminalizing someone who committed an unintentional mistake does not seem beneficial to anyone, including society. Such an action would only provide revengeful satisfaction for the victims involved. A punishment should be administered to keep the profession in check but prison and house arrest?
-Yelena Panko
Although I agree with Jenna Picton concerning about thinking about the family who suffered, I agree with Whitney Gibson in terms that the punishment for the error was extreme and unnecessary. I do not believe that placing a pharmacist in jail for making a mistake is justifiable. It is unfair for the pharmacist to be punished on the same levels as murderers or even rapists, especially when the error was unintentional. I believe some rational punishments include having the pharmacist's license revoked, having him be put on probation, having him pay a fine, and also having him be monitored at all times for a certain duration of time in the pharmacy. I do not believe jail time will allow a pharmacist to improve his skills and to correct his errors.
-Therese Nguyen
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