Shoppers Drug Mart says an internal investigation is underway after a mix-up at one of its pharmacies in British Columbia dispensed a powerful prescription painkiller in place of a young child’s ADHD medication. Sarah Paquin says her son Declan has been taking dextroamphetamine to treat his ADHD for years, typically sourced from the same Shoppers Drug Mart pharmacy in Comox where the prescription was again refilled last week. “It wasn’t until the next morning, when my husband went to give our son the medication before school, that he noticed that they were a different colour,” she told CTV News. When her husband checked the label on the bottle, he saw that the pills contained a high dosage of hydromorphone, a highly addictive opiate used to treat severe pain, and were intended for a different patient. Paquin says her son was moments away from ingesting the drug. “They were in his hands,” she said. “He would have had this high dosage of morphine and been sent off to school, unknowingly.” Paquin’s husband returned the prescription later that day and told the pharmacist what had happened. The franchise owner called the family on Wednesday to apologize, she said. “He did also let me know that the employee that I dealt with has been suspended while they do their own internal investigation,” Paquin added. In a statement Thursday, Shoppers Drug Mart’s parent company Loblaw described the medicine mix-up as “a case of human error, one that never should have happened.” “We have controls in place to minimize risks like this – where the patient was handed the wrong prescription bag,” the statement said, adding the store’s management is reviewing those controls with employees to prevent similar mistakes in the future. “The owner of this location has reached out to the patient’s parents to apologize for any undue stress this may have caused, and to outline the corrective steps,” the statement concluded. Paquin says she has filed a complaint with the College of Pharmacists of B.C. about the potentially dangerous error. She urges all patients and parents to “double-, triple-, quadruple-check every prescription you pick up, whether you’ve been going to that pharmacy for years, whether it’s a medication you’ve been on for years.” The College of Pharmacists of B.C., which regulates all pharmacies in the province, declined an interview about the incident and would not answer specific questions about the mistake, citing patient privacy concerns. Instead, college spokesperson Lesley Chang provided an emailed statement confirming the regulator has been in contact with the family. “The College of Pharmacists of B.C. takes all medication incidents very seriously, as public health and safety is our highest priority,” Chang wrote. “It’s important to know that pharmacists are legally required to speak with clients about the prescriptions they are picking up. The consultation is to make sure clients understand their medication, how to take it properly, and address any questions. As part of this, pharmacists are required to confirm client identity, name and strength of drug, purpose of drug, directions, and other information with the client or their representative at the time of dispensing.” Despite those requirements, Paquin says steps to verify the right medication went to the right patient were missed. “It’s just terrifying. We put our trust in these local professionals to be upholding their end,” she said. “I think this was entirely avoidable.” With files from CTV News Vancouver Island’s Andy Garland
