What Are Drug Recalls And Why Do They Take Place
January 20, 2016
Drug recalls are important in today’s society, because they allow dangerous drugs and mislabeled items to be recalled off the shelves and out of pharmacies quickly, hopefully before patients suffer any kind of consequences from them. New Jersey patients who do suffer injuries can usually file a claim for compensation.
Why Are Drugs Recalled?
Drugs can be recalled for one of many reasons. If drugs are a health hazard, they’ll be more likely to be recalled. If they are packaged poorly or mislabeled, either because of drugs being placed in the wrong containers or dosage information being incorrect, then the drugs may be recalled as well.
Drugs could be recalled if they could be contaminated. For instance, if you take vials of inhaled medications, any bacteria in that vial could go into your lungs. A recall makes sure you don’t use the vials that could be contaminated and can even help you get new, sanitary medications.
Purity defects can also be a reason for recall. Imagine if you were taking a pain medication, and it suddenly stopped working when you started a new pack. You could be concerned that you have a tolerance or that your injury is getting worse, but another option is that the drug itself is not as potent as it’s meant to be. If it was mixed incorrectly, it’s possible that the drug’s purity isn’t as high as usual, making it less likely to be as effective as it was in the past. This poor quality is unacceptable, and manufacturers will recall the medications to make sure patients don’t suffer or take higher doses than necessary to obtain relief.
Source: WebMD, “What Is a Drug Recall?,” accessed Jan. 20, 2016
