The New Mexico Board of Pharmacy revoked the licenses of BestCare Pharmacies following a disciplinary hearing held July 14-16, citing repeated and serious violations of the state’s Pharmacy Act. While the license has been revoked, Questa’s only pharmacy will continue to operate under five years probation along with the Chama and Lordsburg locations. In an order obtained by the Questa del Rio News, the pharmacy will be subject to increased inspections for compliance to ensure it follows all laws and regulations. Additionally, any deficiencies must be corrected within 30 days.
The board found that multiple BestCare locations failed to comply with safety, inventory, and oversight regulations designed to protect patients. Documented in inspection reports dating back to 2019, the violations included missing barcoding systems, incomplete controlled substance audits, unsanitary conditions, and lapses in professional oversight.
The company’s other locations in Mora, Angel Fire, Deming, and Springer had closed prior to the July disciplinary hearing.
State inspections across the BestCare network in 2022 uncovered a pattern of violations. A May 2022 audit of the Questa location found that the pharmacy lacked barcoding technology to verify prescriptions and that the designated pharmacist in charge had failed to sign mandatory monthly reports. Pharmacies in Angel Fire, Chama, Lordsburg, and Mora were cited for similar deficiencies.
In Deming, a March 2022 inspection revealed the pharmacy was operating without a functioning thermometer to monitor medications, and its controlled substance inventory had not been properly completed.
A June 2022 inspection in Chama found the pharmacy’s designated pharmacist in charge, David Shoup, had died in November 2021, leaving the business without a licensed pharmacist’s oversight for seven months. Additionally, inspectors noted that owner Ashok Pothula’s license displayed an expiration date of 2018.
Further inspections at the Springer location in September and October 2022 found that controlled substance audits were not properly conducted, and inventory records contained unexplained edits.
In one of the final audits, conducted in February 2024, inspectors found the Mora pharmacy in an unclean and unsanitary condition. Surveillance equipment required to monitor the dispensing counter was not operational and barcode technology remained nonfunctional.
The board concluded that BestCare violated four provisions of the New Mexico Pharmacy Act and 10 additional administrative rules, citing failures to maintain proper records, ensure the integrity of controlled substance inventories, and uphold sanitary and professional standards.
Under the order, all BestCare licenses are revoked for a period of five years. Any reinstatement will be contingent upon probationary oversight and increased inspections.
New Mexico’s drug overdose rate, among the highest in the nation for the past two decades, has more than tripled since 1990, according to the state Department of Health.
The board continues to emphasize the important role pharmacies play in preventing the diversion and misuse of controlled substances.
BestCare Pharmacies could not immediately be reached for comment.
