Patient level recall of heart drug a concern

Patient level recall of heart drug a concern for patients and the sector

The Pharmacy Guild of New Zealand (the Guild) is expressing concern about today’s patient level recall of Mylan NZ’s Pacific Atenolol 50mg tablets. The Guild says such recalls are worrying for patients and take considerable time and effort by frontline health professionals to correct. This is the third recall since January.

Five tablets from three bottles of Pacific Atenolol 50mg tablets have been found to be 72% larger and 70% over the required specifications.

The Guild understands that Mylan NZ will be asking GPs to contact all patients prescribed this medicine since 1 January 2010. Community pharmacies have been asked to quarantine all stock affected and to provide replacement tablets for patients returning potentially affected stock.

“When a medicine is recalled, patient safety is paramount and will always prevail. However, behind the scenes they cause administrative headaches for frontline health professionals who have to manage the situation,” says Annabel Young, Chief Executive of the Guild.

Mylan NZ will be operating a “barter system” by providing all pharmacies with three bottles (1,500 tablets) of Atenolol 50mg tablets at no cost. Mylan NZ will also be providing a credit for the total price of a 500 tablet bottle for any full or part bottles returned of the affected batch.

The Guild is pleased that Mylan NZ has recognised the principle that community pharmacies need to be compensated in their consumer level recall of Pacific Atenolol 50mg tablets. However, the value of the goods supplied does not adequately reflect the value of the time and resources expended.

“The Guild’s advice to our member pharmacists is that, in consumer level recalls, pharmacists are entitled to reasonable compensation for the time and professional skill spent on the recall,” says Ms Young. “It is up to every pharmacy to decide whether they accept the goods in lieu of payments.

“This recall again highlights the lack of sector agreement around how pharmacy is to be recompensed for medicine recalls.”

Mylan NZ recommends patients continue to take their tablets until a replacement can be obtained. If the tablets appear larger than normal, do not take them and contact your community pharmacist for advice.

ENDS

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