In April 2021, Mikayla Wilson, of Alexandra, and her partner Ben Jonutz had bought a house and were planning to get married and start a family when she picked up what she thought was routine prescription for acne.
They were devastated to learn months later it was not acne medication, but a psoriasis drug not meant for women of child-bearing age due to the complications it could pose.
She had been given acitretin, a drug women are advised not to get pregnant for two years after taking because of an increased risk of birth deformities, or three years if alcohol is consumed while taking the drug.
Finding out what had happened had scared them, Miss Wilson said.
"I cried a lot.
"... the fact that hurts the most probably is knowing that [they] let me walk out of that pharmacy with that horrific medication in me."
Miss Wilson had been taking the acitretin for three weeks when she went to pick up a repeat from Lake Dunstan Pharmacy, which has since been sold.
The pharmacist who dispensed the original medication told her there had been a mistake.
The prescription box had the correct information on it, but the contents did not match.
They apologised and told her not to worry, there were no issues with it, Miss Wilson said.
"I didn’t even question it."
She was most disappointed the pharmacist did not give her more information when the mix-up was first discovered, and that it was not reported to her doctor — or any pharmaceutical authority — at the time.
"They let me walk out of there knowing that I’d consumed three and a-half weeks of that medication — and if I had fallen pregnant, I would have been none the wiser.
"I would have no idea — but there would have been a massive chance that that child would have been very deformed."
She was given the correct medication and told to continue taking it from that point.
It was not until nearly three months later, during an unrelated doctor’s visit, Miss Wilson became concerned when she learned the doctor had not been told of the mix-up.
Tests two days later showed she had taken acitretin.
The couple were finding it easier to talk about now, but she "did go through angry, scared" emotions, Miss Wilson said.
It felt like the pharmacist had hidden or attempted to hide the mistake, she said.
When contacted by the Otago Daily Times, the new owner of what is now Antidote Lake Dunstan Pharmacy, Chin Loh, said it would be prudent to wait for the final report from a two-and-a-half-year investigation by the Health and Disability Commission (HDC) into the dispensing error.
The report is due later this month.
"But we can confirm that all rectifying procedures introduced and taken by [the] previous owner were monitored and maintained by us," he said.
"No doubt it was a distressing episode for our patient.
"We do recognise that and we do understand the gravity of our responsibility as health professionals."
He said he wanted to commend the pharmacist on their dedication and service to the Cromwell community "during the very challenging days of Covid pandemic".
The pharmacist declined to comment, as did the pharmacy’s previous owner Jackie Hamilton.
Miss Wilson said the dispensing error as well as Mr Jonutz being diagnosed with acute pericarditis after receiving the Covid-19 vaccine had made the couple lose "a lot of confidence in the medical system" over the past few years.
She had lodged a treatment injury claim with ACC, wanting assurance that if there were issues with a pregnancy or the baby there would be medical support available.
ACC deputy chief executive for service delivery Amanda Malu said there was "no question" there was a dispensing error that resulted in Miss Wilson being given the incorrect medication, but the law said for ACC to accept the claim there needed to be a physical injury.
There had not been evidence of such and ACC had been unable to accept the claim.
She said she understood Ms Wilson had requested a review of the decision, and had recently provided ACC with further information which it was considering.
