New Jersey pharmacy mistakenly gives kids breast cancer medication instead of flouride pills
The state attorney general's office is investigating how the mixup happened
By The Associated Press
Saturday, March 3, 2012, 2:13 PM
The New Jersey attorney general’s office ordered a CVS in Chatham (not pictured) to explain why they gave children breast cancer medication instead of the flouride pills they had been prescribed.
TRENTON, N.J. — The state attorney general’s office has begun a preliminary investigation into a CVS pharmacy’s mistaken distribution of pills for the treatment of breast cancer to children instead of the fluoride pills that were prescribed.
The attorney general’s consumer affairs division on Friday ordered a CVS pharmacy in Chatham to explain the mistake and provide the names of all its employees along with all emails, telephone calls, complaints, and other information related to the mix-up.
The pharmacy must provide the information by Wednesday and company representatives must appear before division officials for questioning under oath, an order signed by division Director Thomas R. Calcagni said.
Meanwhile, CVS Caremark said in a statement that it was “deeply sorry for the mistake that occurred” at its pharmacy in northeastern New Jersey, although the company did not explain how the mistake happened. There has been no report of injury.
Calcagni’s administrative order said the pharmacy acknowledged it improperly dispensed the breast cancer fighting drug Tamoxifen instead of chewable fluoride tablets to children in as many as 50 families between Dec. 1, 2011, and Feb. 20. Calcagni said in the order that the division wants to look into whether any laws were violated.
Fluoride helps prevent tooth decay and is usually prescribed by dentists for children. Tamoxifen is used to treat breast cancer in men and women and blocks the female hormone estrogen.
Mike DeAngelis, CVS’s director of public relations, said in a statement that the company had contacted or left messages for every family whose child was dispensed a 0.5 mg fluoride prescription in the previous 60 days. He said that “most of the families we have spoken to did not indicate that their children received any incorrect pills.”
“The health and safety of our customers is our highest priority and we are deeply sorry for the mistake that occurred ... ,” DeAngelis said.
He said the company would continue to follow up with families who believe their children may have ingested incorrect medication.
“We are actively investigating this matter to determine how the mistake occurred in order to take corrective actions to prevent this from happening again,” DeAngelis said.
CVS Caremark, based in Woonsocket, R.I., runs the second-largest chain of drugstores in the U.S., after Walgreen.
5 posters
New Jersey pharmacy mistakenly gives kids breast cancer medication instead of flouride pills
Chris- Chamber Admin.
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- Post n°1
New Jersey pharmacy mistakenly gives kids breast cancer medication instead of flouride pills
Alan Smithee- ...is a 20G Chamber DIETY.
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- Post n°2
Re: New Jersey pharmacy mistakenly gives kids breast cancer medication instead of flouride pills
I saw this yesterday on the local news and called my daughter in to see it (she's a pharmacy tech at CVS). She came into the room just in time to hear it reported that the two drugs are similar in appearance to which you replied, "No they're not." I hope all the kids are alright.
CeCe- …is a Chamber DEITY.
- Join date : 2010-06-30
Posts : 11962
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- Post n°3
Re: New Jersey pharmacy mistakenly gives kids breast cancer medication instead of flouride pills
Calcagni’s administrative order said the pharmacy acknowledged it improperly dispensed the breast cancer fighting drug Tamoxifen instead of chewable fluoride tablets to children in as many as 50 families between Dec. 1, 2011, and Feb. 20. Calcagni said in the order that the division wants to look into whether any laws were violated.
Nystyle709- ...is a 20G Chamber DIETY.
Join date : 2010-03-16
Location : New York
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- Post n°4
Re: New Jersey pharmacy mistakenly gives kids breast cancer medication instead of flouride pills
That's a big fuck up. Hopefully, it can be corrected and no one gets hurt.
Nhaiyel- …is a Power Member.
Join date : 2010-02-02
Location : Jersey (West Orange)
Posts : 3137
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- Post n°5
Re: New Jersey pharmacy mistakenly gives kids breast cancer medication instead of flouride pills
I heard about this story this morning. The first thing that actually caught my attention was that they were aiming to administer fluoride pills. Fluoride pills? Really? Why are they issuing kids THAT in pill form?
Anyway, this is a huge lawsuit.
Anyway, this is a huge lawsuit.
Alan Smithee- ...is a 20G Chamber DIETY.
Join date : 2010-09-03
Location : 40º44’18.33”N 73º58’31.82”W
Posts : 25792
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- Post n°6
Re: New Jersey pharmacy mistakenly gives kids breast cancer medication instead of flouride pills
There's also a bill in both houses of the legislature to mandate fluoridation of all our water.
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