NEW: Smithfield Pharmacy Suspended For Prescription Violations
Wednesday, October 10, 2012
A Smithfield pharmacy and three of its employees have been suspended for numerous violations, including packing prescription medications in sandwich bags, according to the Rhode Island Department of Health (HEALTH).
Several pharmacists associated with Millennium Pharmacy, located at 33B Appian Way in Smithfield, including Christopher Rizzo, RPh, Pharmacist-in-Charge, Roger Normand Croteau, a pharmacy technician I, and Angelina Chanthearun Chea, CPhT, a pharmacy technician II, have had their licenses suspended in connection with this investigation.
Millennium Pharmacy was inspected by the Board of Pharmacy in September 2012, revealing a series of violations, including Rizzo being seen by an eyewitness hiding or conspiring to hide "suspected misbranded medications" prior to the arrival of Inspectors at the pharmacy.
Distribution of adulterated and misbranded drugs
According to HEALTH, Millennium Pharmacy staff routinely engage in "repackaging prescription drugs into improperly labeled containers, including plastic 'sandwich baggies' which did not include lot number, expiration date, or other required labeling." In addition, inspection revealed "the routine procedure of pharmacy staff removing prescription drugs from multi-drug single dosing packages and restocking inventory with these items." Subsequent interviews with pharmacy staff revealed that "the aforementioned misbranded and adulterated prescription drugs were further re-dispensed to patients at nursing facilities in Rhode Island and other states."
Holding for sale and dispensing adulterated and misbranded drugs
Inspectors also found "the presence of significant and excessive quantity of misbranded and adulterated drugs in Millennium's dispensable inventory." Inspectors found labeled plastic "sandwich baggies", improperly labeled amber bottles with hand written labels, compounded prescription medications dispensed from other retail pharmacies and a "significant quantity of expired stock medications."
Inspectors also found that Millennium pharmacy staff were accepting previously dispensed legend prescription drugs and controlled substances for return from end-users at nursing facilities in Rhode Island and other states, and redispensing those medications to patients in nursing facilities. Further, staff was revealed to be routinely dispensing legend prescription drugs without obtaining or reviewing a valid prescription which satisfied all legal requirements.
The pharamacy and its mentioned employees are suspended by HEALTH pending further notice.
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