Fort Dodge pharmacy sanctioned over "immediate danger" to public health

A Fort Dodge pharmacy that was alleged to pose an “immediate danger” to the public is now restricted from concocting medications onsite using hazardous drugs.

The Iowa Board of Pharmacy issued an emergency order earlier this year restricting the ability of Daniel Pharmacy, 1114 Central Ave., Fort Dodge, to concoct certain medications for customers.

According to the board, the pharmacy had been given ample time to comply with standards for compounding medications with hazardous drugs but continued to be “noncompliant” with state regulations and industry standards.

The pharmacy’s continued ability to compound drugs in that manner posed “an immediate danger to the public health, safety and welfare,” the board said.

The specific nature of the pharmacy’s actions have never been publicly disclosed by the board, although the charges do indicate the violations are somehow related to “facilities and engineering controls.”

John Daniel III, one of the pharmacy’s owners, said in July that the charges stemmed from delays in the business’ construction of a hazardous-drug compounding room within its laboratory. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, he said, the pharmacy had difficulty getting contractors to work on the room and complete the ventilation system that was needed to protect staffers who worked there.

On Oct. 18, the board issued an order extending the prohibition on compounding hazardous drugs until further order of the board. The board also placed the pharmacy’s license on probation for a period of two years, and fined John Daniel III $1,000.

Other sanctions

Other licensees recently sanctioned by the Iowa Board of Pharmacy include:

Lombard Pharmacy, 211 S. Main St., Lombard, Ill., which has been sanctioned for doing business for 17 months without a valid Iowa license. The board alleges the pharmacy had a nonresident Iowa pharmacy license that expired in December 2020 and was not reactivated until May 2022. During that time, the board alleges, the pharmacy dispensed over 700 prescriptions in Iowa with no valid Iowa license. The pharmacy has agreed to a settlement that requires it to pay a $5,000 civil penalty.Jenette Hunger, the owner and pharmacist of the now-closed Lee Pharmacy in Keosauqua, was fined $1,000 for shutting down the business in May while giving customers less than one day’s notice of the closing.The Hy-Vee pharmacy at 3800 Lincoln Way in Ames was fined $5,000 for violating regulatory requirements that it provide instructions and counseling for customers receiving certain medications for the first time.

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