(Iowa Capital Dispatch) – Several Iowa pharmacies have been cited by the state recently for dispensing incorrect medications, including one instance in which a patient might have died. The Hy-Vee Pharmacy located at 1501 First Ave. East in Newton, was recently charged by the Iowa Board of Pharmacy with dispensing the incorrect prescription to a customer.

The board alleges that on Jan. 14, 2024, the pharmacy mistakenly dispensed 30 milliliters of morphine concentrate to a patient with incorrect directions on the label, which the board says resulted “in a substantial overdose and possibly early death.” No other information on the case has been made public by the board. The board has imposed a $5,000 civil penalty against the pharmacy and ordered that the entire professional staff at the pharmacy undergo training on medication errors and patient safety.

The Hy-Vee Pharmacy located at 1501 First Ave. East in Newton was recently sanctioned by the Iowa Board of Pharmacy. (Photo via Google Earth)

Other cases recently addressed by the board include:

— A Hy-Vee Pharmacy at 2827 Hamilton Boulevard in Sioux City, which was charged with dispensing an  incorrect prescription to a customer. The board imposed a $2,000 civil penalty, and the entire professional staff was ordered to undergo training on medication errors and patient safety.

— A Hy-Vee Pharmacy at 351 NE Gateway Drive in Grimes, which was charged by the board with dispensing the incorrect prescription to a patient on May 29, 2023. The board imposed a $2,500 civil penalty and the entire professional staff was ordered to undergo training on medication errors and patient safety.

— A CVS Pharmacy at 14201 Hickman Road in Urbandale, which was charged by the board with dispensing the incorrect prescription to a customer. The board imposed a $5,000 civil penalty on the store.

— Monroe Community Pharmacy, located at 112 E Washington St. in Monroe, which was charged by the board with failing to reconcile its actual inventory of narcotics with its documented supply, failing to maintain complete and accurate pharmacy records, failing to have adequate policies in place with regard to narcotics, and failing to train pharmacy technicians at a telepharmacy site.

The board fined Monroe Community Pharmacy $3,500 and placed the pharmacy’s license on probation for three years. In addition, the board ordered that the pharmacy staff complete educational training on narcotic theft.

In a separate but related case, Douglas Niedermann, who was the Iowa-licensed pharmacist in charge at the Monroe pharmacy, was charged by the board with failing to audit and reconcile the inventory, and with failing to maintain complete and accurate pharmacy records. The board imposed a $500 civil penalty on Niedermann for the violations and ordered him to complete complete-education courses on controlled substances and theft of narcotics.

— A CVS Pharmacy at 3414 8^th St. SW in Altoona, which was charged by the board with failing to complete Drug Enforcement Agency records as to the loss of controlled substances, committing an act that would render its Controlled Substances Act registration “inconsistent with the public interest,” and with failing to submit a form to the DEA within 14 days of the theft or loss of controlled substances. The board imposed a civil penalty of $5,000 and placed the business’ pharmacy license and its Controlled Substances Act registration on probation for two years.

— DCA Pharmacy of Franklin, Tennessee, which was charged by the board with sending prescriptions into Iowa for two full years without an active Iowa license. Between January 2022 and January 2024, DCA PhIn addition, DCA was also accused of shipping compounded progesterone capsules into Iowa, despite its inability to show any of the required evidence of a clinically significant difference between the compounded medication and that which was available otherwise. The board imposed a $5,000 penalty against the company.

(Additional information can be found HERE)

(Radio Iowa) – All the recent rain has helped keep pollen counts down in Iowa, but soon enough, the state’s allergy sufferers will be red-eyed, sneezing and sniffling. Dr. Ravi Johar, at UnitedHealthcare, says while the chilly winter weather may be gone, that pesky pollen will force some Iowans with seasonal allergies to remain indoors.

Johar recommends allergy sufferers try using air purifiers indoors, limit their time outdoors, and to run their air conditioners in their homes and cars to keep the pollen out. Johar also says to avoid leaving clothes out to dry on a clothesline as they can collect pollen from triggers like trees, weeds and grass.

A wide variety of allergy medications are available without a prescription.

DOUGLAS COUNTY, Neb. [KETV] — Sheriff’s Officials in Douglas County, Nebraska report a body was found floating in the Missouri River, Tuesday. Authorities were notified when a person called 911 about possible human remains floating in the river just north of the Douglas/Washington County line.

Multiple agencies worked together to pull the body of an adult male from the river along North River Drive a little farther south of County Road P51.

Anyone with information concerning this incident is being asked to call the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office at 402-444-6000.

(Radio Iowa) – Legislation which Governor Kim Reynolds recently signed into law expands the definition of “pedestrian” in Iowa, which safety experts say is an enormous win for everyone who uses a crosswalk. Cara Hamann, director of training and education at the Injury Prevention Research Center, based at the University of Iowa, says broadening the legal description of pedestrian is an important move. “The law says that a pedestrian is a person on foot, and the new law expands that to pedestrian or pedestrian conveyance,” Hamann says, “and pedestrian conveyance includes things like people in wheelchairs, babies in strollers, people on rollerblades or skateboards, or people on bicycles.”

Hamann is an injury epidemiologist, meaning, she studies crash prevention and outcomes. While the law change won’t necessarily prevent accidents, she says the new distinction of what defines “pedestrian” is key. “People in vehicles are protected by the big metal surrounding that they’re in, whereas all these other users — or what we call vulnerable road users — don’t have that protection,” she says. “So ultimately, I think it makes sense that drivers should yield to users crossing the road legally in a crosswalk.” The new law doesn’t take effect for a few months, and while it won’t instantly make crosswalks any safer on July 1st, it -will- make drivers legally liable for anyone they may strike.

“Before this change, really only people on foot were written into the law, so that means if a driver hit a bicyclist in a crosswalk, they could walk away with no consequences,” Hamann says, “because there’s no law to uphold that says they should have yielded to that bicyclist.” Hamann, an associate professor in the U-I’s College of Public Health, says she’s very encouraged by the expanded legal definition of pedestrian: “This is a really positive change in the law that moves us toward a better traffic safety culture overall in the state, recognizing that all road users are important and we should take care of each other on the road.”

This is National Bike to Work Week.