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Performance and Professional Standards Panel
Jurisdiction: Victoria
Date of Hearing: 12 November 2012
Date of Decision: 5 December 2012
Pharmacy/medication- Inappropriate, unlawful or inaccurate dispensing.
It was alleged that the pharmacist had behaved in a way that constituted unprofessional conduct under section 191(1)(b)(ii) of the National Law in that they:
The pharmacist admitted that they had erred in dispensing the medication by failing to check the product, use the barcode scanner and check the dispensed product when counselling the patient. The panel accepted the admission and on the evidence also found that the pharmacist had provided inadequate and ill-considered responses to the prescribing doctor about the appearance of the medication.
The panel held that the pharmacist had engaged in unprofessional conduct and had failed in all the ways alleged.
The panel stressed the importance of pharmacists using the counselling time with each patient to do a final check on both the label and packaging of dispensed medication.
The panel acknowledged that since the incident, the pharmacist reviewed the stock in the dispensary monthly, used the bar code scanner at each dispensing and confirmed patient details against label at counselling.
The panel cautioned the pharmacist.