Right label, wrong meds: Patient trying to get pregnant gets drugs that stop hormone production

A Québec pharmacist-owner has been fined $4,500 after admitting his pharmacy gave a woman undergoing fertility treatment a drug that suspended her hormone production and led to headaches and hot flashes. Vincent Roy, who owns a pharmacy in Longueuil, dispensed Bio Letrozole instead of Estrace when the patient renewed her prescription, according to the decision document issued by the discipline council of the Ordre des pharmaciens du Québec After a pharmacy technical assistant carried out the renewal, Roy conducted a content-only validation. He did not consult the patient’s file and relied only on the label on the vial, which indicated Estrace 2 mg tablets instead of Letrozole. Read: What fertility treatment coverage is offered by Canada's provinces and territories The patient, who took the Letrozole for nine days, discovered she had the wrong medication after she got her second refill and noticed that the new vial contained tablets of a different colour. She also found out at the time that the leaflet given to her with her first refill was for Letrozole. The patient had an embryo transfer during the time she was taking Letrozole and the procedure was “inconclusive,” although the fertility clinic informed the patient that the Letrozole had suspended her body’s hormone production. She did succeed in becoming pregnant a few months after the incident. The patient’s husband told college investigators that when he picked up the prescription, he asked the pharmacy technician who cashed out the purchase if the vial contained the correct medications. The technician assured him they were the right drugs, without checking first with the pharmacist. Read: Fertility care in Atlantic Canada comes with lengthy travel and wait times During the investigation, Roy told the college he had no recollection of these events and could not explain how he made the oversight. At the time, he was working 30 to 40 hours in the laboratory in addition to managing the pharmacy. He has since reduced his workload and now makes sure he validates the information in the patient file each time a prescription is renewed, according to the decision document. Roy also fired the pharmacy technician who told the patient’s husband he had the right medications. Read: An honest mistake with distressing consequences: Pharmacist gives contraceptive to patient trying to have a baby

Right label, wrong meds: Patient trying to get pregnant gets drugs that stop hormone production

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