(State) An Iowa pharmacy and two pharmacists have agreed to pay civil penalties for allegedly dispensing the incorrect medications to patients.
The three cases, all unrelated to each other, are detailed in the latest settlement agreements involving the Iowa Board of Pharmacy.
One of the cases involves Food Land Pharmacy in Woodbine. The board alleges that on July 18, 2023, a Harrison County home-health worker noticed that the medication she was giving her patient did not match the description on the pill bottle. A subsequent investigation revealed Food Land Pharmacy had provided the patient with the wrong medication, which was a drug that had never been prescribed for the individual.
The next day, a woman went to Food Land Pharmacy to pick up a prescription for her son and was given a medication for a different individual.
In October 2023, the board alleges, the pharmacy failed to update its records by removing a “duplicative therapy” for a customer and as a result, the pharmacy dispensed the wrong strength of his medication for three months.
Around that time, another patient was allegedly given a lower strength medication than was prescribed.
The available board records give no indication as to what drugs were mistakenly dispensed or whether the patients in question suffered any adverse outcomes.
The board also alleges that in July and August 2023, Food Land Pharmacy employed Sabine Guinn as a pharmacy technician despite Guinn’s lack of a registration as a pharmacy technician. The store failed to determine whether Guinn had the required registration before putting her to work in the store, the board alleges.
As part of a settlement agreement with the board, the store has agreed to pay a $2,500 civil penalty and have all pharmacists and pharmacy technicians undergo additional training in patient safety and medication errors.
The settlement was signed by Dina Corbett of Woodbine, president of Food Land Pharmacy. Federal records indicate John Corbett of Omaha is the pharmacy’s designated representative. The Iowa Capital Dispatch was unable to reach either of the Corbetts for comment.
More pharmacist sanctions
Other pharmacists recently sanctioned by the board include:
— Jordan Gran of Sioux City, who was working at the Hy-Vee Pharmacy located at 2827 Hamilton Boulevard in Sioux City last October when a customer arrived there for a COVID-19 booster vaccination. Gran is alleged to have mistakenly entered data into the computer calling for an influenza vaccine, which was then administered.
As part of a settlement with the board, Gran agreed to a civil penalty of $1,000 and agreed to take additional training on patient safety and medication errors. Earlier this year, the board fined the pharmacy $2,000 for the error and ordered the entire professional staff to undergo training on medication errors and patient safety.
— Danelle Hudspeth of Delhi, who on Feb. 16, 2024, allegedly dispensed and verified an incorrectly filled prescription for a minor and then counseled the child’s mother on the administration of the drug. Hudspeth agreed to pay a civil penalty of $2,000 and take additional training on patient safety and medication errors. The available public documents do not state where Hudspeth was employed when the errors occurred, but indicate she was practicing in the city of Independence at the time.
