Complaints
A citizen may file a complaint against a Pharmacy, Pharmacist or Pharmacy Technician by submitting a written statement to the North Dakota State Board of Pharmacy. If you wish to file a complaint, you may print the complaint form (10 KB PDF), fill it out and mail it, or you may submit a complaint online. If you have any questions about completing the form, you may contact us for assistance. It is most important that you state your concerns as clearly as possible and that you are very specific in describing your allegations.
Upon receipt of your complaint, we will generally send a copy to the Pharmacy's Pharmacist-In-Charge/Pharmacist/Pharmacy Technician for his/her response. Your complaint and the Pharmacist/Pharmacy Technician's response may prompt additional investigation by the Board.
All complaints or other reports, which would give rise to a disciplinary action against a Pharmacy/Pharmacist/Pharmacy Technician, are investigated by the Board's Investigative Committee. This Committee is comprised of one Board Member, the Executive Director, a Special Assistant Attorney General and the Senior Compliance Officer.
The Investigative Committee functions as the investigating arm of the North Dakota State Board of Pharmacy. It is the duty of this Committee to determine which cases will progress to formal disciplinary proceedings. In other words, after conducting such investigation as is deemed appropriate, the Investigative Committee will determine
- That no formal disciplinary proceedings are warranted;
- The complaint may be resolved administratively;
- That formal disciplinary proceedings should be prosecuted against this Pharmacist/Pharmacy Technician before the North Dakota State Board of Pharmacy.
You will be notified of the Investigative Committee's decision as soon as possible, however; because the investigations and deliberations of the Investigative Committee are confidential by state law, it is often not possible for us to provide information from our files in those cases where no formal disciplinary proceedings are instituted.
If, at the conclusion of its inquiry, the Investigative Committee concludes that both the current law and the available evidence will support a formal disciplinary action against the Pharmacy/Pharmacist/Pharmacy Technician, then the case will be set for hearing before the North Dakota State Board of Pharmacy.
You Should Expect:
- Acknowledgment that your complaint has been received.
- A copy of the response from the pharmacy/pharmacist/technician along with a letter from us.
- A letter from us once the investigating committee has completed their work.
- A copy of the formal complaint served by the Board, if the decision is made to file one.
- A copy of the notice of hearing. (You will usually be asked to appear to testify at this hearing, which is held during a Board of Pharmacy meeting.)
- An invitation to attend the board meeting when a stipulated settlement is considered, if the defendant elects to settle before a formal hearing is held.
- A copy of the final order, once it has been served on the defendant.
- ALL OUR MEETINGS ARE OPEN MEETINGS AND YOU ARE ALWAYS WELCOME TO ATTEND. We try to keep patient identity confidential whenever possible.
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