A patient died after a Florida doctor prescribed the wrong drug, a state complaint says
A Tallahassee doctor’s prescription error, possibly from a bad click on a drop down menu, preceded the death of a 94-year-old woman, a state complaint says.
The Florida Department of Health administrative complaint against Dr. John Agens says the woman lived in an assisted living facility with several medical issues, including chronic constipation. The ALF asked Agens to prescribe the laxative Bisacodyl on Feb. 22, 2022.
Two days later, Agens, “electronically signed the physician order fax sheet for Bisacodyl, however [Agens] chose the incorrect drop down box during the electronic prescription entry and completed the electronically transmitted prescripitin order for Bisoprolol Fumarate, a cardiac medication.
“[Agens] did not recheck his order entry, as Bisacodyl and Bisoprolol Fumarate were next to each other alphabetically.”
The complaint says the woman was given the wrong medication for three days, Feb. 26 through 28, then suffered “septic shock from left toe necrosis and pneumonia.”
She died March 1, 2022.
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The American Board of Internal Medicine website says Agens has been board certified in internal medicine since 1989 and geriatric medicine since 1994. His Florida Department of Health online profile shows no previous disciplinary issues.
The address on Agens’ Florida Department of Health profile has changed from a Tallahassee address to a Savannah, Georgia, address. He didn’t respond to an email from the Miami Herald.
