'Exceptional staffing shortages' prompt college to give pharmacist extra fine instead of suspension

A Nova Scotia pharmacist who was suspended and fined for using expired compounding ingredients has been given the unusual choice of paying a higher fine so her pharmacy can stay open in case she’s unable to find a temporary pharmacist. Anne Marie Kember, who owns and manages The Medicine Shoppe in New Glasgow, was suspended for four weeks by the Nova Scotia College of Pharmacists and ordered to pay a $1,500 fine plus $3,000 in college costs. But recognizing the “public interest in The Medicine Shoppe Pharmacy remaining open to serve the community of New Glasgow,” the college has allowed Kember to elect to pay an additional fine of $9,000 in lieu of the four-week suspension. Read: Three common prescription documentation mistakes In giving Kember this option, the college cited “present exceptional staffing shortages” and told her she would need to submit a signed declaration attesting that she made “best efforts but failed to obtain appropriate staffing.” According to the settlement agreement posted on the college website, Kember had dispensed compound preparations using carbamazepine powder that had expired in December 2019 and dehydroepiandrosterone powder that expired in June 2020. Between December 2019 and September 2021, Kember “knowingly continued to use” the expired carbamazepine powder at least 15 times, including for a compound prepared once a month for one patient, according to the agreement. Read: Hospital outpatient meds now included in N.S. DIS In March 2021, Kember was found to have dispensed the expired dehydroepiandrosterone powder. The college noted that she failed to ensure her pharmacy’s inventory was managed in a way that ensures expired stock is removed in accordance with pharmacy practice regulations and standards. In addition to handing down a suspension, fines and costs, the college ordered Kember to pay $825 for the cost of a practice audit and to successfully complete a college-approved ethics course within 18 months of the settlement agreement. Read: More than prescribed: 10-year restriction and $13K liability for giving patient excessive opioids

'Exceptional staffing shortages' prompt college to give pharmacist extra fine instead of suspension

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