Oregon hospital says pharmacy worker's error led to patient getting wrong medication, dying

An Oregon hospital says last week's death of a patient who was given the wrong medication occurred because of the error of a hospital pharmacy worker who inadvertently filled an IV bag with the wrong drug.

The mistake was one of several revealed Monday by the St. Charles Health System that led to the death of 65-year-old Loretta Macpherson at its hospital in Bend.

Officials say Macpherson was given a paralyzing agent typically used during surgeries instead of an anti-seizure medication.

Hospital officials say the pharmacy received the correct drug, and the IV bag was correctly labeled. But it says a pharmacy worker inadvertently filled the bag with the wrong drug.

When a nurse checked on Macpherson, she had suffered cardiac arrest and brain damage.