Shoppers Drug Mart trying to reach Albertans given expired birth control pills

Shoppers Drug Mart is still trying to reach some Alberta women who were given birth control pills that were past their expiration date.

The medication, called Alesse 21, was dispensed between March 16 and April 1, but carries an expiry date of September 2014.

"We've contacted all the patients in all but one of the provinces, which is Alberta," said Ash Desai, senior vice-president of pharmacy operations for Shoppers Drug Mart. "We continue to reach out. We are leaving messages."

Desai said the company hasn't been able to confirm yet that all of those patients have been notified.

The expired pills were dispensed to fewer than 100 women in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba.

"I can't speak to the efficaciousness of a product once it is expired," Desai said. "Every patient has a unique medical history and may be taking different medications."

Desai said Shoppers is reviewing the process it has in place for checking expiration dates and when medication is dispensed. The protocol for making those checks at the distribution centre in Calgary, where the mistake was made, is under review, he said.

Twenty-five stores in Alberta dispensed the expired birth control pills.

Will Leung, pharmacist and owner at Strathcona Prescription Centre, which is not part of Shoppers Drug Mart, said expired medication can still be effective.

"There's not a light switch that goes off and says, nope, it's not effective anymore. So I'm going to say a lot of the medications, chemicals and so forth that they utilize, would still maintain its potency."