Pharmacist Nirali Shah asks Board to end probation early after compliance work at CVS

A pharmacist placed on probation after board findings about return handling and controlled-substance security testified to a committee of the Board of Pharmacy March 12 that she has complied with probation terms, completed continuing education and an ethics course, and adopted compliance practices while working for a large retail chain.

Nirali Shah told the disciplinary petition committee she worked at White Cross Pharmacy from September 2016 to May 2018 and briefly served as pharmacist in charge before leaving. She acknowledged gaps in security and inventory management at the independent store — the matters that formed the basis of the disciplinary order — and said she had not fully appreciated the scope of the PIC role at the time.

Since placement on probation Shah said she has focused on continuing education, reads pharmacy trade publications, completed the board’s ethics course and has applied lessons from larger corporate compliance systems while working at CVS. She stated she now conducts thorough self-assessments at stores where she floats, identifies compliance gaps and works with managers to correct them.

Deputy Attorney General Nicole Trauma noted the petition packet and exhibits were admitted into evidence and said the state had no objection to the hearing. Committee members asked Shah about specific examples of compliance changes she has made and whether probation made her a better practitioner. Shah said the probation process, including the ethics course, helped her identify personal risk factors — such as a tendency to acquiesce to supervisors — and that she has become more assertive about reporting and correcting compliance gaps.

The committee closed the record and submitted the matter for deliberation; no committee decision was announced at the March 12 meeting.