Wednesday, November 18, 2015

Iowa Board of Pharmacy Recent Board Actions (November 3-4, 2015)

Recent Board Actions (November 3-4, 2015)

Date: 
Tuesday, November 17, 2015
PUBLIC DOCUMENTS:  Please click on the business/individual's name to access a link to a copy of the public documents for these licensees/registrants.
At the November 3-4, 2015, meeting of the Iowa Board of Pharmacy (Board), the following disciplinary action was taken:
Postal Prescription Services, a non-resident pharmacy, had a Statement of Charges filed against them on March 13, 2013 dismissed.  Charges were dismissed as previous discipline with the Oregon Board of Pharmacy was reported to Iowa by Postal Prescription Services in a timely fashion.  Dismissal of the charges was also based on belief that protection of the public is adequately achieved through a consent agreement between Postal Prescription Services and the Oregon Board of Pharmacy. 
Juanita Durham, ARNP, entered into a Settlement and Agreement and Final Order whereby being cited for having her federal registration to distribute or dispense controlled substances restricted and warned that failure to comply with controlled substance laws could lead to further discipline. 
Weatherford Compounding Pharmacy, nonresident pharmacy, entered into a Settlement and Agreement and Final Order under which they agreed to voluntarily surrender their Iowa nonresident pharmacy license, effective December 31, 2015.  A $6000 civil penalty is to be paid by Weatherford Compounding Pharmacy. 
David Kroner, DDS, entered into a Settlement Agreement and Final Order following the Board’s issuance of a Show Cause Order pertaining to Dr. Kroner’s Controlled Substance Registration (CSR).  The Show Cause Order alleged the failure of Dr. Kroner to renew his CSR for an eleven year period, while continuing to administer and prescribe controlled substances.  The Settlement Agreement mandated payment of a $1000 civil penalty by Dr. Kroner. 
Leeds Pharmacy entered into a Settlement Agreement and Final Order whereby they were cited for violating terms of its probation, including failure to implement a continuous quality improvement program and failure to have sufficient policies and procedures.  The pharmacy’s license will remain on probation until January 16, 2016. 
Karen Bean, Pharmacy Support Person, entered into a Settlement Agreement and Final Order under which she will voluntarily surrender her registration with the Board.  The Settlement Agreement was reached following a Statement of Charges against Ms. Bean that included allegations of unlawful possession and diversion of hydrocodone. 
Pharmacy Creations, nonresident pharmacy, was issued a Notice of Hearing and Statement of Charges in which three counts were alleged.  The counts include out-of-state discipline, failure to notify of discipline, and failure to notify of pharmacy license change.  Pharmacy Creations had its nonresident pharmacy licenses in Indiana and Ohio placed on probation as a result of shipment of medications in to those states prior to licensure.  Five other states disciplined Pharmacy Creations for numerous infractions including prior discipline and failure to timely report prior discipline. 
Wells Pharmacy Network, nonresident pharmacy, was issued a Statement of Charges and Notice of Hearing in which six counts were established.  The counts include, but are not limited to, dispensing a prescription without verifying a valid patient-practitioner relationship, regularly compounding commercially available products and/or compounding inordinate amounts of drugs which are essentially copies of commercially available product, and failure to report out of state discipline. 
Downing Labs, LLC, nonresident pharmacy, was issued a Notice of Hearing and Statement of Charges for out-of-state discipline, failure to notify of discipline in another state, and failure to timely submit an application for change in pharmacy ownership.  The Michigan Board of Pharmacy suspended the pharmacy and controlled substance licenses of Downing Labs after the pharmacy’s refusal to initiate a recall of compounded products, at the request of the Food and Drug Administration.  The name change and ownership change application submitted to the Iowa Board of Pharmacy by Downing Labs did not disclose the discipline imposed by Michigan. 
Keysource Medical Inc., wholesaler, was issued a Notice of Hearing and Statement of Charges for out-of-state discipline and failure to notify of discipline.  A June 2011 suspension and 2011 surrender of Keysource Medical’s DEA registration were not reported to the Board until November 14, 2011.  Keysource Medical’s Indiana wholesaler license was suspended in December of 2012.  The Board was not notified of the discipline. 
Adam Castle, Certified Pharmacy Technician, was issued a Notice of Hearing and Statement of Charges for unethical conduct.  Mr. Caste allegedly sent inappropriate text messages regarding controlled substances to an individual. 
Lisa Gray, pharmacist, was issued a Statement of Charges and Notice of Hearing for unethical behavior or practice harmful or detrimental to the public and violation of a statute or law related to the practice of pharmacy.  During her employment at Iowa Methodist Medical Center Ms. Gray allegedly accessed her own medical records and those of seven other individuals without a professional purpose for doing so. 
Remedies, Inc., pharmacy, was issued a Statement of Charges and Notice of Hearing for unethical conduct and dispensing a Schedule II drug pursuant to a facsimile.  During the course of a 17 month time period, Remedies allegedly billed Iowa Medicaid for 19 prescriptions of brand Dexedrine, yet the generic form of Dexedrine was dispensed 16 of 19 times. 
Alan Hoppe, pharmacist, was issued a Statement of Charges and Notice of Hearing for violating the duties of a pharmacist-in-charge and engaging in unethical conduct.  As owner and pharmacist-in-charge of Remedies, Inc. pharmacy, Mr. Hoppe reportedly billed Iowa Medicaid for 19 prescriptions of brand Dexedrine, yet the generic form of Dexedrine was dispensed 16 or 19 times. 
Minnesota Independent Cooperative, Inc., wholesaler, was issued a Notice of Hearing and Statement of Charges for out-of-state discipline and failure to notify of closing.  Minnesota Independent Cooperative was fined $10,000 in April of 2012 for purchasing prescription drugs from an improperly licensed company.  As of May 19, 2015, the Minnesota Board of Pharmacy determined the wholesaler to be closed.  The Board was not notified of the closure. 
Hy-Vee Pharmacy 1068, pharmacy, was issued a Notice of Hearing and Statement of Charges for failures to keep, maintain, and separate records.  Additionally, the pharmacy was charged with failure to establish effective controls against diversion.  The pharmacy was unable to produce invoices for receipt of approximately 25,000 tablets of hydrocodone-containing products, approximately 30,300 tablets of lorazepam, and approximately 2,000 tablets of diazepam.  Additionally, an audit of the pharmacy revealed a shortage of close to 7100 units of controlled substances.  The shortage was attributed to employee pilferage. 
Dawn Ruehle, pharmacist, was issued a Notice of Hearing and Statement of Charges for violating the duties of pharmacist-in-charge.  Ms. Ruehle served as pharmacist-in-charge of Hy-Vee Pharmacy 1068 in Cherokee, Iowa from May 31, 2014 through September 2014, and she is responsible for the violations identified in the Statement of Charges filed against Hy-Vee Pharmacy 1068
Priority Pharmaceuticals, Inc., wholesaler, was issued a Notice of Hearing and Statement of Charges for violating the pharmacy or drug laws or rules of another state.  On March 13, 2015, Priority Pharmaceuticals surrendered its California Wholesaler License to resolve a pending disciplinary accusation issued by the California Board of Pharmacy. 
Amanda Latta, pharmacist, was issued Findings of Fact, Conclusions of Law, Decision and Order following a hearing on September 1, 2015.  The hearing was held to consider an application for license reinstatement filed by Ms. Latta.  Effective April 27, 2012, Ms. Latta’s pharmacist license was indefinitely suspended, as part of a Stipulation and Consent Order, following charges alleging substance abuse and diversion of hydrocodone.  As a result of the reinstatement hearing the board found Ms. Latta to have satisfied the terms of her settlement agreement, and evidence demonstrated the basis for her suspension no longer exists.  The Board decided to reinstate the pharmacist license of Ms. Latta.  Ms. Latta’s license will be under probationary status for a five year period. 
During the meeting, the Board also:
  • Reviewed 5 applications for licensure or registration
  • Reviewed investigative reports resulting from complaints against 27 licensees
The Board’s next regular meeting is scheduled for January 12-13, 2016.

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