THE LEDGER-STAR
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, October 13, 1994 TAG: 9410130662
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B5 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: NEWPORT NEWS DAILY PRESS
DATELINE: NEWPORT NEWS LENGTH: Medium: 59 lines
The Virginia Board of Pharmacy has suspended the license of a Newport News pharmacist who, authorities say, incorrectly filled a prescription that killed an 8-year-old girl.
In an agreement formalized Tuesday, Kent Lee Schafer accepted the indefinite suspension without admitting the mistake that led to the death of Megan McClave.
Under the terms of the arrangement, Schafer could apply to have his license reinstated at any time. He would then have to prove to the board that he was again competent to practice pharmacy.
Schafer declined to comment Wednesday, but his attorney said the pharmacist would not likely try to regain his license any time soon. Schafer, said Jeffrey R. DeCaro, is still trying to ``come to grips'' with what's happened.
But, said DeCaro, Schafer does plan to seek to have his license reinstated. The only question, he said, is when.
Meanwhile, the Newport News commonwealth's attorney's office is reviewing the case to see if criminal charges are warranted.
In July, Schafer mistakenly filled a prescription for Megan, a Hampton, Va., girl who had just had a tonsillectomy. The prescription called for Demerol, a brand name for a drug called meperidine. Instead, Schafer filled the prescription with Roxanol, a brand name for morphine.
Schafer dispensed the drug, telling Megan's father Roxanol was a generic form of Demerol. In a statement to the pharmacy board, Schafer admitted he mistakenly thought the two medications were interchangeable.
Mike McClave gave his daughter a 2-teaspoon dose of the painkiller - the directions typed on the label - on Sunday, July 17. Megan McClave died in her sleep sometime early Monday.
The medical examiner in Norfolk has ruled the cause of Megan's death was ``morphine toxicity due to ingestion of Roxanol.''
The drug, said the medical examiner, slowly shut down Megan's respiratory system. It also set off a chain of events that led to the development of a blood clot near her lungs.
Megan's parents could not be reached for comment Wednesday, but they recently said they think Schafer should never practice pharmacy again. An indefinite suspension, Mike McClave has said, is too light a punishment for Schafer's mistake. Scotti Milley, executive director for the pharmacy board, said the board made the offer of indefinite suspension after a preliminary investigation. They may not have wanted to box themselves into a set time period - either long or short - ``without having all the facts.''
Milley wouldn't say what facts may have been in question, but it's possible the board did not know for sure that Megan died from morphine poisoning. At the time the consent order was offered, the full autopsy may not have been complete.
And even though Schafer can reapply for his license at any time, the board doesn't have to grant it. by CNB