Pharmacist Fadi Abied urges early end to probation after compliance work and training

A pharmacist who was placed on probation after a disciplinary order told a Board of Pharmacy committee he has completed remedial training, paid fines and worked with a consultant to strengthen compliance at his pharmacy in support of a petition for early termination of probation.

Fadi Abied spoke for roughly an hour at the committee’s March 12 disciplinary petition hearing, answering questions from the administrative law judge, the deputy attorney general and committee members. He told the panel he has been compliant with quarterly reporting and monitoring requirements, finished remedial education and ethics coursework, and submitted seven letters of recommendation and continuing-education certificates with his petition packet.

Abied said the events that led to the disciplinary action stemmed from lapses in oversight when he was the pharmacist in charge at River’s Edge Pharmacy, including problems with limited-distribution specialty drugs and acceptance of returned medications. "I should have known better," he told the committee, describing a lack of experience in that management role and taking responsibility for the failures the board found.

He described steps he and his employer have taken since, including working with consultant pharmacist Dr. Raffi Simonian to rewrite policies and implement auditing, additional staff training, and purchasing an IV workflow tracking system for sterile compounding compliance. Simonian testified he has performed recurring visits to River’s Edge and helped design new policies; he told the committee he found Abied "fully engaged" and placed the pharmacist in the top tier of rehabilitation among comparable cases he has reviewed.

Deputy Attorney General Nicole Trauma said the state’s presentation included the petition packet and supporting exhibits; the petition packet was admitted into evidence at the hearing. Abied’s counsel, Ivan Petrzelka, asked the committee to grant the petition, arguing Abied had shown rehabilitation by clear and convincing evidence and that continuing probation would provide no public-safety benefit.

Committee members asked about the underlying problems at the pharmacy, Abied’s decision to step down from the pharmacist-in-charge role, and whether safeguards are now in place. Abied said he stepped down to work under a more experienced pharmacist and now serves as a clinical pharmacist and special projects manager focused on ongoing training and auditing. He told the committee he plans additional board specialty certifications and said he would consider resuming a pharmacist-in-charge role only after further professional development.

The hearing record was closed at the end of testimony and argument; the committee did not issue a decision at the meeting. The matter was submitted for deliberation and a written decision will be issued later.

Provenance: The hearing transcript shows the petition was introduced and the record opened at the committee hearing (transcript excerpt: "The next petitioner is Fadi Ates Nasrar Abid") and the formal on-the-record hearing: "We are on the record before a committee of the Board of Pharmacy to review the petition for early termination of probation by Fadi Atif Nasar Abid. OEH number 202502965."