Beasley, Allen, Crow, Methvin, Portis & Miles, P.C.

Just because a drug has been recalled doesn’t mean that it has been eliminated from pharmacy and hospital inventory. According to the Associated Press/San Jose (California) Mercury Sun, during an investigation by the California Board of Pharmacy, heparin, which was recalled last winter, was found 94 times in California hospitals and at least 16 hospitals administered the drug to patients.

Nearly 100 pharmacists and the hospitals they work for were fined $2,000 to $5,000 by the Board of Pharmacy, according to the report.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recalled heparin early last year after a large number of patients suffered adverse effects after taking the drug. The FDA later determined that batches of heparin made in China contained a contaminant that ultimately killed more than 80 people and made hundreds more ill.

In 2004, California took the lead in making sure recalled medicines were removed from pharmacy and hospital shelves by becoming the only state in the country to approve a stringent electronic system for drug makers, wholesalers and pharmacies to track all prescription drugs from manufacturer to patient, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.

But implementing this system has been challenging. The law originally was set to go into effect in 2007, but was delayed until January 1, 2009. Last March, the California Board of Pharmacy voted to give until Jan. 2011 to start electronic tracking. Board officials were concerned if they did not extend the deadline that the law would be poorly implemented or drug makers would refuse to sell their medications in California.

This entry was posted on Monday, October 6th, 2008 at 12:59 pm and is filed under Heparin recall, News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.