Lessons to be learned from methadone controversy, says pharmacist

From the Cape Breton (NS) Post:
It’s relatively uncommon for a complaint filed to the professional body governing Nova Scotia pharmacists to proceed to the hearing stage, its registrar said Tuesday.

Susan Wedlake, registrar with the College of Pharmacists, was commenting on a recent settlement worked out between the college and Glace Bay pharmacists Donald and David Ferguson of Ferguson’s Pharmacy in Glace Bay.

An investigation into how the pharmacy dispenses methadone resulted after Ron Whalen of Glace Bay filed a complaint about the care his son, Robert, received there on the day he died.

Wedlake noted the college can follow different processes in response to a complaint — they can be dismissed, resolved informally, or can go on to investigations committee or to hearing committee.

“(Whalen’s complaint) went all the way through the process . . . it’s not common that complaints end up at the hearings level,” Wedlake said. ...more

Overdose victim’s dad calls for public inquiry

From the Halifax (NS) Chronicle Herald:
Two Glace Bay pharmacists will lose their licences for a week after an investigation found they dispensed methadone improperly.

One man died of an overdose of the drug.

And at least three other patients became ill after taking prescribed methadone prepared at Ferguson’s Pharmacy Ltd. in 2005.

The Nova Scotia College of Pharmacists launched a probe of David and Donald Ferguson after Ron Whalen filed a complaint.

Mr. Whalen’s son, Robert Whalen, 23, died in 2005 of a methadone overdose.

"I’m not very happy at all," Mr. Whalen of Glace Bay said Tuesday.

"The two of them lose their licence for a week and they don’t even have to close down the pharmacy. One guy can go to Florida and the other guy can run the pharmacy for a week and then vice versa." ...more

Methadone mixup upsets Sask. pharmacists

From CBC News:
Confusion about how Saskatchewan pharmacists get paid for a federal methadone program was largely Health Canada's fault, an official with the department says.

Some Saskatchewan pharmacists were upset after getting a June newsletter from Health Canada's Non-Insured Health Benefits (NIHB) program that said, effectively, some of them could expect less money from now on.

Specifically, it told them that for each of their methadone clients, who typically receive a dose every day, they could bill for only one prescription a week, with the pharmacist's fee capped at $36.17. Methadone is a drug used to wean addicts off heroin. ...more

Coverage changes

From the Regina Leader Post:
An advocacy association that represents Saskatchewan pharmacists believes that federal changes to methadone coverage short-changes its members.

Brett Filson, executive director of the Pharmacists' Association of Saskatchewan (PAS), said Canadian pharmacists weren't warned that the definition of a prescription changed until they got a newsletter in mid-June from the Non-Insured Health Benefits Program of the First Nations and Inuit Health Branch (NIHB).

Filson said he contacted NIHB last summer to ask questions about methadone coverage after a Saskatchewan pharmacy was audited and at that time, he was told that three different strengths of methadone constituted three different prescriptions and could be billed accordingly.

"When a patient is starting on it they'll have a strength for a few days and then the strength will be adjusted for a few days and then another strength adjustment will be made and the doctor will write that on the prescription," Filson explained. "Usually it's a run of about three days at each different strength as the patient is being brought on to the methadone." ...more

Methadone policy review 'impractical,' pharmacist says

From the St. Catharines (Ont.) Standard:
The recommendations of a coroner’s jury that examined the death of a St. Catharines man who poisoned himself with booze and methadone are well-meaning but impractical, a local pharmacist says.

“They were trying to do the right thing, that much is obvious,” said pharmacist Tom McAnulty, owner of Pharmasave on Carlton Street. “But their recommendations are impractical and expensive and really would not solve anything.”

Last week, after a two day coroner’s inquest was in the death of Grant Spielmacher, the jury recommended methadone policies in Ontario be reviewed.

Spielmacher died in the custody of Niagara Regional Police in February 2004. ...more

Patients survive drug mistake

From the Waterloo (Ont.) Record:
Six people who were sent to hospital this week after a Waterloo pharmacist over-prescribed their methadone treatment were lucky to have survived, say experts who specialize in the drug.

Overdosing on methadone -- a narcotic drug used to treat opiate addicts and severe pain sufferers -- can be fatal. In this case, the six who started showing signs of overdose Monday after taking their prescription from University Pharmacy on King Street in Waterloo were treated at hospital and released. Although the store's pharmacist declined to comment yesterday, police say the patients were immediately contacted and advised to go to hospital once the pharmacist realized the error.

Detectives decided charges will not be laid in the case, said police representative Olaf Heinzel.

The six suffered minor physical complaints, mostly discomfort, police said, before receiving treatment to counteract the overdose.

Dr. Nathan Frank, director of the Kitchener methadone clinic, which treats some 400 patients, said there is not much room for error when dealing with methadone, and the dangers are more pronounced with people whose bodies have not yet developed a tolerance for it. ...more