27-03-2025
Western Iowa pharmacy cited for numerous violations
The Food Land store in Woodbine, Iowa, before a fire that occurred in August 2024. (Photo via Google Earth)
A western Iowa store where a pharmacist was cited last year for incorrectly filling prescriptions for patients is now facing multiple charges from the Iowa Board of Pharmacy.
In 2024, the board alleged that pharmacist Christopher Steele of Underwood incorrectly filled prescriptions for at least four patients in 2023.
The board did not publicly disclose where Steele was working when the drugs were dispensed, the nature of the alleged errors, the types of drugs that were dispensed, or the effect the alleged errors had on the patients. Steele told the Iowa Capital Dispatch the errors occurred at the pharmacy within the Food Land store in Woodbine where he worked.
Earlier this month, the board charged Food Land Pharmacy with 10 separate regulatory violations — an exceptionally large number of violations for a pharmacy of that size.
The charges include failing to follow board rules related to recordkeeping, failing to follow board rules related to temporary pharmacy staff, failing to follow proper procedures related to controlled-substance registrations, failing to follow proper procedures for a change in the pharmacist in charge, failing to follow board rules related to accountability of controlled substances, failing to follow rules related to system security and safeguards, and failing to comply with the required drug utilization review process for a patient.
The nature and timing of the alleged actions that serve as the basis for those charges has not been publicly disclosed by the board. A hearing on the matter is scheduled for May 21, 2025.
Last August, a major fire at Woodbine's Food Land store forced the business to close. Company officials demolished what remained of the building and construction has begun on a new store that is expected to open later this year.
