Pharmacists censured for supplying medication without prescription

Two Donegal pharmacists have been censured for supplying a medication that causes serious side-effects to a patient without prescription.
Gerard McCormick and Stewart Magee, of Magee’s Pharmacy, Upper Main Street, Letterkenny, Co Donegal, have been found guilty of poor professional performance at a disciplinary inquiry held by the Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland in Dublin.
The Irish Times reports that both agreed to a number of measures including ongoing training and annual audits for five years.
The inquiry heard that both pharmacists supplied a woman referred to as Patient A, who is now deceased, with a drug called Enbrel without a prescription over a period of 14 months.
The inquiry heard that over a period of 14 months, between January 2011 and May 2012, Patient A was supplied with Enbrel 11 times without a valid prescription. In August 2012, Patient A was diagnosed with pneumonia and cancer. She has since died.
The inquiry heard that there was no medical evidence to show that the pharmacists’ actions caused or contributed to Patient A’s death.
Gabriel Gavigan, senior counsel for both pharmacists, said they had expressed regret and remorse regarding the events, and had taken numerous steps to ensure it would not happen again.