(Memphis) There are new details on a MidSouth pharmacy connected to tainted medication and now at the center of a nationwide recall.
Main Street Family Pharmacy in Newbern, Tennessee announced a voluntary recall Wednesday of more than 300 types of drugs it specially made.
This after at least seven people had a bad reaction from a steroid shot made by the pharmacy.
It’s the same type of steroid that killed dozens of people and made hundreds of others sick in a meningitis outbreak last year.
So far, there are no reports of anyone in Tennessee getting sick but the suspect meds were shipped to clinics in 14 states, including some in the MidSouth.
Besides steroids, the recall list also includes HCG and lipotropic shots, plus dozens of drugs used in hormone replacement therapy. All the recalled drugs have a use by date on or before November 20, 2013.
Speaking of dates, the On Your Side Investigators uncovered a trail of problems for Main Street dating back to 2011.
A spokesperson with the Tennessee Department of Health says pharmacy inspections are confidential by statute. However, she did confirm Main Street has been inspected at least once annually since 2007.
Records reveal inspectors noted numerous violations in 2011 and 2012 that resulted in disciplinary action for the head pharmacist and Main Street.
During a December 2011 visit, inspectors found 89 outdated meds and 20 of those were used in compounding.
They also discovered Main Street dispensed 11 prescriptions that weren’t patient specific (which is required by law).
Plus, a nurse had been working as a pharmacy tech for more than four years without proper registration.
The Board of Pharmacy fined the Pharmacist in Charge, Christy Newbaker, and issued a warning letter.
Roughly a year later in November of 2012 during an inspection related to the meningitis outbreak, investigators found more violations.
This time, they found 109 outdated medications, prescriptions not written on tamper resistant paper and prescriptions emailed and dispensed without a signature.
The Board put Main Street and Newbaker on probation. The pharmacy was fined more than $25,000.
State and federal health officials are still working to confirm the actual source of the problem.
