Walgreens settles for $7.5M after employee charged with impersonating pharmacist

[left-of-center2012]

Source: The Hill

Walgreens has settled for $7.5 million with California authorities after a woman was charged with impersonating a pharmacist at the store and illegally filling more than half a million prescriptions.

The Associated Press reported Monday that the settlement comes after district attorneys in two California counties filed consumer protection actions against the company in response to criminal charges against Kim Thien Le, who worked for the company between 2006 and 2017 and filled prescriptions for numerous drugs, including opioid medications.

Alameda County's district attorney warned in a statement that companies were required to ensure that their employees had proper certifications for pharmaceutical work. “The burden is on the company to make sure its employees are properly licensed and to complete a thorough background check. My office will be vigilant in protecting consumers and enforcing licensing laws,” she added.

“Pharmacy quality and safety are top priorities, and upon learning of this issue, we undertook a re-verification of the licenses of all our pharmacists nationwide,” Walgreens said.



Read more: https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/481303-walgreens-settles-for-75m-after-employee-charged-with-impersonating

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BY JOHN BOWDEN - 02/03/20 09:12 PM EST

[Demovictory9]

1. wow... eleven years playing pharmacist

[Wrz]

2. Not too surprising

It's not too surprising that she pulled it off for so long. I wonder if she made any mistakes in all that time.

99% of pharmacy work seems to be pulling up the patient's info on the computer, and most of the systems will automatically display the drug information including multiple high resolution photographs of the pill if it's a pill. Then it's just a matter of going to the shelf, finding the right bottle, making sure the pill matches the photo shown on the computer, counting it out. Also making sure the NDC number shown in the computer is what is on the bottle/container. Ensuring you're dispensing IR/immediate release or ER/Extended Release in accordance with the prescription.



Or in the case of liquids measuring the mL if not dispensing the entire bottle.

If it's an intramuscular, subcutaneous, or intravenous drug then including the correct gauge syringe (which I assume this info is also given by the computer when the pharmacist pulls up the patient's data).

Compound pharmacists are the ones that have the really complicated job from what I understand. Having to work with raw pharmaceuticals and make custom pills and weighing powders using microgram accurate scales and mixing special syrups for people allergic to common filler material and/or solvents that's used in normal Rx syrups. Like for example having to make a custom Cocaine and Ethanol mouthwash for some rare dental disease where the patient is allergic to the various analogues to Cocaine but the ethanol/antiseptic would be too painful so they need the topical anesthetic and is also allergic to dyes and so a clear dye-free syrup must be made just for that patient. THAT is something you can't just have a regular person do wily-nily.

Of course, it's a big responsibility but it seems unless you're a compound pharmacist computers make it a pretty hard job to mess up

The software I've seen used at the pharmacy a friend works at even automatically notifies the pharmacist if there's conflicting prescriptions. IE, if two diuretics were prescribed and using both together is contraindicated it highlights both prescriptions in either yellow or red depending on severity. And I think if two or more nervous system depressants are prescribed it also highlights them and requires a manual override by first checking with the prescriber to make sure that doctor wants that patient taking both and is aware of the risk factor (IE, if Clonazepam is prescribed with Fentanyl patches).

As long as her actions did not harm anyone I hope she doesn't get any prison time.

[muriel_volestrangler]

3. She used others' license numbers; issued over 100,000 opioid prescriptions

Kim Thien Le has pleaded not guilty to felony impersonation charges. Prosecutors said that from late 2006 through 2017, Le used the license numbers of registered pharmacists in order to impersonate them and dispense prescriptions at Walgreens stores in Santa Clara and Alameda counties.

The prescriptions allegedly included more than 100,000 for opioids such as fentanyl, morphine and codeine.

https://apnews.com/a3c0979140d66397a01498f2744ea84b

In Britain, qualified pharmacists also give advice on treatment. If she had no qualifications (rather than, say, one from another country that wasn't recognised by the state, for instance), then it sounds too serious to me to just say to her "here's a fine, don't do it again".