The Texas State Board of Pharmacy licenses and regulates pharmacists, pharmacy technicians, and pharmacies. As a result, the Board receives complaints about pharmacists who have allegedly violated the laws and rules that govern them. The Board can bring formal enforcement action against the pharmacist or pharmacy if sufficient evidence of a violation exists.
Obtaining experienced legal counsel to represent your interests in disciplinary proceedings before the Board can be critical to protecting your professional license. Having experienced legal counsel on your side can be significant in reaching a positive outcome in your case. As a result, if you are facing a complaint before the TSBPA, you should consult a pharmacist license defense attorney for help.
Remedial Plan Summaries
TSBPA entered ten remedial plans at its August 2024 meeting. Most of the remedial plans stemmed from violations that occurred in 2023, but in a few cases, the original violations occurred in 2022 and even 2021.
The recent disciplinary actions against pharmacists resolved by remedial plans involved dispensing errors, drug regimen review (DRR) errors, and pharmacies that ceased to engage in the business of pharmacy. Dispensing errors included dispensing the wrong strength of a medication, dispensing the wrong drug, commingling drugs, and giving the wrong directions. DRR errors included giving high dosages of drugs and failing to find drug-drug interactions. Each licensee who received a remedial plan for one or more of these errors received the following sanctions:
- 15 hours of continuing education;
- Submission of modifications implemented to improve the practice of pharmacy; and
- Payment of a $1,000 fee.
Additionally, one pharmacy received a remedial plan for ceasing to engage in the business of pharmacy. The remedial plan for that pharmacy requires it to submit to a Continuous Quality Improvement Plan (CQIP), employ a management consultant, and pay a $1,000 fee.
Agreed Board Orders Approved by the Executive Director
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The Executive Director recently approved 15 agreed board orders. These agreed board orders included five voluntary license revocations and one voluntary retirement. Additionally, the Executive Director approved one voluntary restriction, five modifications of agreed board orders, two orders nunc pro tunc, and one reprimand in a case involving a deferred adjudication for a charge of misdemeanor assault – family violence.
Board Orders Entered by the Executive Director
The Executive Director also recently revoked the licenses of seven pharmacies that ceased to do business as pharmacies.
Technician and Technician Trainee Agreed Board and Default Orders
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At its most recent meeting, the TSBPA also considered 11 agreed board orders and one default order related to pharmacy technicians and technician trainees. The default board order involved a deferred adjudication for a criminal charge of a prohibited substance/item in a correctional or civil commitment facility, with a sanction of license revocation.
The agreed board orders mostly involved criminal charges, ranging from misdemeanor assault to felony permitting or facilitating escape. Some criminal charges resulted in deferred adjudication, while others were convictions. The sanctions outlined in these agreed board orders varied, including the following:
- Reprimand;
- 60 – 90 days suspension;
- One to five years of probation; and
- Revocation.
In one case, the Texas Board of Nursing took action against the individual and the TSBPA found that the individual had “developed an incapacity that prevents them from practicing as a pharmacy technician or pharmacy technician trainee with reasonable skill, competence, and safety to the public.” As a result, the agreed board order requires the individual to complete a three-year rehabilitation probation plan.
Consideration of Agreed Board and Default Orders
The TSBPA also recently considered 14 alternative resolutions, 25 agreed board orders following informal conferences, and two default orders following informal conferences.
Alternative Resolutions
The alternative resolution cases involved three individuals and 12 pharmacies. TSBPA recommended that two individuals receive $1,000 penalties for ceasing to engage in the business of pharmacy and that a third individual, who had a previous board order, receive a $2,000 penalty for ceasing to engage in the business of pharmacy and failing to comply with reporting requirements to the Texas Prescription Monitoring Program (PMP).
On the other hand, the TSBPA found that the pharmacies committed various violations, including lack of proper supervision, dispensing errors, delivery errors, failure to maintain adequate security for confidential patient records, unlicensed practice, drug regimen review errors, and ceasing to engage in the business of pharmacy. In some cases, these pharmacies faced monetary fines, reprimands, and placement on Continuous Quality Improvement Programs, or a combination thereof.
Agreed Board Orders Following Informal Conferences
Ten pharmacies entered agreement board orders following informal conferences for non-therapeutic dispensing, dispensing errors, drug regimen review errors, errors regarding recordkeeping and maintaining controls against the loss/diversion of controlled substances, delivery errors, and ceasing to engage in the business of pharmacy. The pharmacies received sanctions ranging from reprimands to continuing education hours to $1,000 – $3,000 penalties and/or up to two years of probation. Three pharmacies also were placed on a Continuous Quality Improvement Program.
The TSBPA also approved agreed orders placing four other pharmacies on one year of probation after their managing officer received a deferred adjudication on criminal charges of felony theft.
Nine individuals were found to have committed violations concerning non-therapeutic dispensing, errors regarding recordkeeping and maintaining controls against the loss/diversion of controlled substances, unlawfully engaging in pharmacist duties with a delinquent license, failing to comply with reporting requirements of the Texas PMP, failing to properly supervise personnel, allowing an individual to work as a pharmacy technician trainee with an expired registration, and ceasing to engage in the business of pharmacy. Sanctions included reprimands, continuing education hours, fines, and probation.
A tenth individual was recommended for license revocation after convictions for felony conspiracy to unlawfully distribute and dispense controlled substances and maintaining a drug-involved premises and aiding and abetting.
Default Orders Following Informal Conferences
TSBPA recommended two individuals for default orders following informal conferences. One individual received five years’ probation after a withheld judgment in a felony video voyeurism criminal case. Another individual received a $1,000 penalty for ceasing to engage in the business of pharmacy.
We Can Advocate on Your Behalf in Disciplinary Proceedings
The pharmacist license defense lawyers of Bertolino LLP are here to guide you throughout the disciplinary complaint process. No matter the allegations you may be facing, we can work to protect your interests and work to minimize the negative effects of a complaint on your license and career. Our goal is to help you resolve the allegations against you and maintain your pharmacist license. Call us today at (512) 980-3751 to reach the offices of Bertolino LLP or contact us online.
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