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Lahti pharmacy suspected of getting prescriptions wrong

Regulators suspect a pharmacist in Lahti has sold customers the wrong medicines. The Finnish Medicines Agency says that there's no reason to believe anyone's health was endangered by the mixup, but it will seek to revoke the pharmacist's license and has asked the police to investigate.

Renkomäen apteekki Lahdessa.
Renkomäki pharmacy. Image: Yle / Mika Halme

A pharmacy in Renkomäki, Lahti, is suspected of incorrectly dispensing prescriptions. Authorities say that they don't believe anyone's health was endangered by the mixup, but patients have  been urged to check that their drugs match the prescription.

The Finnish Medicine's Agency (Fimea) says that the problems were caused by the outlet keeping stock levels too small.

"We don't know the reason their stocks were small, but generally it's known that a pharmacy's stock represents a big investment of capital," said Fimea director Sinikka Rajaniemi.

Pharmacies are obligated to keep stocks at a certain level, based on their customer base and their needs. Fimea says that it has received tipoffs that the Renkomäki pharmacy was not receiving deliveries commensurate with its size.

"We don't have any information that anybody might have been seriously endangered," said Rajaniemi. "It is possible that a customer may have received either milder or stronger medicines than the doctor had prescribed for them."

The agency has asked the police to investigate the pharmacy, which previously received written warnings about inaccurate dispensing of medicines.

Revocation of a pharmacist's license is extraordinarily rare in Finland. There have only been a handful in the last few years, according to Rajaniemi, but Fimea now plans to stop the Renkomäki pharmacy from operating.

Sources: Yle