A pharmacist who operates in The Villages has been ordered to pay a $10,000 fine and has had her license placed on probation for two years for a series of inspection failures at her prior place of employment, which is now permanently closed.
The Florida Department of Health’s Board of Pharmacy issued a final order against Amy Lynn Hamilton, RPH, on May 6, in connection with an administrative complaint filed late last year.
According to that complaint, the state conducted inspections at Hamilton’s place of work, Ouisia Pharmacy in Hernando County, between August 11 and August 15, 2024.
During those inspections, Hamilton “compounded and dispensed compounded sterile products,” despite never having been issued a “special sterile compounding permit” that authorizes the holder to prepare such products.
The complaint also cites a specific visit on August 15, 2024, in which one or more pharmacists were working without “clearly visible identification badges or monogrammed smocks,” and one or more units of “a medicinal drug” was being stored “outside of the prescription department.”
The inspection also revealed that Hamilton failed to maintain “adequate facilities for the proper storage of 1 or more pharmaceuticals that require refrigeration.”
The complaint accuses Hamilton of six separate counts, citing several Florida Statutes that she violated. That includes 465.022(11)(a), which provides that “the prescription department manager must ensure the permittee’s compliance with all rules” relating to the pharmacy profession and the sale of prescription drugs.
According to her Florida Department of Health profile, Hamilton lists her current employment address as the Walmart Pharmacy located at 270 Heald Way in The Villages.
On April 17, Hamilton’s case was heard by the Board of Pharmacy. At that hearing, Hamilton failed to “raise the defense of equitable tolling” and waived her right to a “hearing involving disputed issues of material fact.” As a result, the facts and allegations in the administrative complaint were approved.
Now, the pharmacist must pay an administrative fine of $10,000 by May 6, 2026. Hamilton’s license has also been placed on probation for two years, during which time she is prohibited from working for more than two pharmacies.
For the duration of her probation, Hamilton must submit quarterly, written reports to the Compliance Officer for the Medical Quality Assurance/Compliance Management Unit. She is also required to complete a “board-approved 12-hour continuing education course on laws.”
In addition to the fine and probation, there are multiple restrictions associated with the order. Hamilton is restricted from permanently “serving as a Prescription Department Manager at any pharmacy,” and she is also restricted “from ever engaging in the practice of sterile compounding or supervising the practice of sterile compounding.”
Furthermore, if Hamilton leaves the state of Florida for “a period of thirty days or more,” or if she otherwise does not “engage in the practice of pharmacy in the State of Florida for a minimum twenty (20) hours per week,” then her probation will be “tolled” and will “remain in a tolled status” until she resumes practicing pharmacy regularly.
Hamilton is also responsible for the costs of “investigation and prosecution” in the amount of $1,090.11, according to the final order.
Ousia Pharmacy officially closed at the end of January, just weeks after the establishment was inspected. In the months before its closure, nearly a dozen customers wrote online reviews about Ousia Pharmacy lacking the necessary resources to compound sterilized medication.