Licences of 2 Thunder Bay pharmacists suspended after misconduct

Two Thunder Bay pharmacists person had their nonrecreational licences suspended for respective months aft their provincial regulator recovered instances of misconduct, including breaking therapy guidelines for treating opioid usage disorder. 

Jaspreet Sahota and Chi (Hao) Luu some admitted to committing misconduct portion moving astatine Fort William Medical Pharmacy during abstracted hearings earlier the Ontario College of Pharmacists connected April 22 and May 5. 

The assemblage investigated aft receiving reports of galore issues astatine the Victoria Avenue pharmacy successful February and March 2023, including dispensing medications without a prescription, not checking dispensed medications and billing patients for medications that were ne'er dispensed, according to an agreed connection of facts signed by Sahota.

Unregulated unit were dispensing methadone, the connection besides said.

Sahota, who was the proprietor and designated manager of the pharmacy, received a 10-month licence suspension, a five-year prohibition from managing pharmacies and was required to wage $15,000 successful costs to the college.

• If you person immoderate much accusation related this story, interaction Michelle Allan astatine [email protected] oregon (343) 552-1972 

The assemblage imposed a seven-month licence suspension connected unit pharmacist Luu. He was besides prohibited from acting arsenic a pharmacy manager for 1 twelvemonth and required to wage costs of $10,000. 

CBC reached retired to Sahota by email and telephone but did not person a effect by work time. Luu declined to remark erstwhile contacted done his lawyer. 

CBC besides contacted McKesson Canada, a corp that provides enactment to independently owned pharmacies similar Fort William Medical Pharmacy nether the banners Guardian, I.D.A. and Remedy'sRx. 

"Guardian pharmacies are owned and operated by autarkic pharmacists who negociate their ain operations and are governed by the rules and regulations of their provincial regulatory body. The Fort William determination is presently nether receivership and is operating nether caller management," a McKesson Canada spokesperson said successful an email to CBC. 

Lawyer Jordan Stone, who represented the college, said astatine Sahota's proceeding that the wide signifier of aggregate types of misconduct repeatedly occurring astatine Fort William Medical Pharmacy was an aggravating factor. 

"There's failures successful a wide scope of areas here. This is not conscionable 1 constituent of Mr. Sahota's signifier oregon the pharmacy's cognition that fell beneath standards. We had issues crossed the board." 

Patient accidentally dispensed 10-fold overdose 

An agreed connection of facts cites a March 2023 medicine mistake wherever a diligent was accidentally fixed a methadone dose 10 times stronger than their regular prescribed dose.

Methadone is simply a synthetic opioid that is often utilized to dainty opioid usage disorder. It's a benignant of opioid agonist attraction that reduces the hazard of overdose successful cause users by utilizing medications to forestall withdrawal symptoms.

The diligent was dispensed 250 milligrams of methadone alternatively of 25 milligrams, the connection said. 

"This medicine was signed by Mr. Luu but was measured and dispensed by a pharmacy adjunct without Mr. Luu checking the prescription. A medicine incidental signifier was not completed for this error."

The proceeding documents bash not bespeak what happened to the patient. 

Personal wounded lawyer Brian Goldfinger said helium has seen an summation successful clients seeking practice aft accidental methadone overdoses arsenic a effect of prescribing errors successful caller years.

Methadone overdose tin beryllium fatal, said Goldfinger, who owns Toronto-based steadfast Goldfinger Law. He is not connected to the Fort William Pharmacy incident, but spoke broadly astir his experiences representing clients who person been afffected by dispensing errors. 

Many of his clients person been hospitalized for extended periods with symptoms specified arsenic musculus damage, inability to walk, terrible symptom and headaches, helium said. Reintroducing ample amounts of opioids to idiosyncratic trying to wean themselves disconnected an addictive substance tin beryllium destabilizing, Goldfinger said.

"What happens oftentimes is it causes them to relapse. So each the large betterment that they've made has each been benignant of flushed down the toilet arsenic a effect of the dispensing error. And then, they person problems benignant of weaning disconnected the methadone and getting backmost to mean … and this wholly sets them back." 

Staff pharmacist overwhelmed, sheet hears

Fort William Medical Pharmacy had an influx of hundreds of opioid agonist therapy patients from an adjacent addiction attraction centre aft a neighbouring pharmacy closed successful January 2023, according to reports by the assemblage that were included successful the Sahota proceeding documents. 

"The pharmacy's measurement has dramatically accrued with a constricted summation successful staffing," said a July 2023 pharmacy appraisal study attached to the agreed connection of facts Sahota signed.

Sahota, the designated manager, did not instrumentality an progressive relation successful the pharmacy's day-to-day management, said the agreed connection of facts. This near Luu arsenic the sole pharmacist moving successful the pharmacy. 

Luu's lawyer, Sari Feferman, said astatine his subject proceeding that Luu was overwhelmed by the accelerated summation successful patients and did not person capable equipment, unit oregon resources. 

"If [Luu] were to testify, helium would authorities that astatine each worldly times, helium felt helium had an work to assistance successful serving the [the attraction centre's] patients, but helium had nary ulterior motive and did not payment personally oregon financially from doing so," said the agreed connection of facts signed by Luu. 

Patients billed for meds ne'er received: report

In summation to the medicine error, the proceeding documents described concerns with medicine documentation, billing practices and absorption of controlled substances.

Luu falsified records to marque it look arsenic though helium had clinically verified oregon dispensed prescriptions, said the summary of his proceeding posted connected the assemblage website. 

"The pharmacy accepted and dispensed prescriptions that were not signed by a prescriber. These prescriptions were reprinted and stated words to the effect of 'not an authoritative prescription,'" the agreed connection of facts from Sahota's proceeding said. 

Luu admitted to dispensing drugs without a due prescription, successful contravention of Ontario's Drug and Pharmacies Regulation Act. 

Sahota and Luu some admitted to billing patients for prescriptions they ne'er received. 

The pharmacy was besides near unfastened and dispensed drugs without a pharmacist present, according to the agreed connection of facts signed by Sahota. 

Sahota besides admitted helium broke national Narcotic Control Regulations by failing to support drugs astatine the store from nonaccomplishment oregon theft. 

Counts of controlled substances often recovered discrepancies, according to pharmacy appraisal reports.

In immoderate cases, the pharmacy was abbreviated tablets of aggregate drugs. At different times, it had much tablets of controlled substances than indicated by acquisition and dispensing records.

Controlled substances taken during robbery

Fort William Medical Pharmacy was robbed successful March 2023 and May 2023, but didn't decently number oregon reconcile controlled substances, said the agreed connection of facts. 

It reported losses of astir 2,000 of tablets of suboxone, astir 1,500 tablets of the sedative clonazepam and astir 3 litres of a liquid methadone formulation.

Both robberies were reported to constabulary and arrests were made successful each case, the Thunder Bay Police Service confirmed to CBC successful an email. The 2 men arrested were not Sahota and Luu.

"It was noted that determination were galore manual adjustments made [to the controlled substances inventory] earlier and aft the robbery wherever nary supporting documentation was disposable to explicate the crushed for the adjustment," work the July 2023 pharmacy appraisal study attached to the agreed connection of facts Sahota signed. 

Luu's misconduct eroded nationalist spot successful pharmacists, assemblage sheet caput Megan Peck told Luu successful an oral reprimand astatine his subject hearing. 

"At a clip erstwhile the opioid situation is beforehand and centre successful the minds of the public, this sheet finds your actions and breaches peculiarly concerning arsenic you person enactment the lives of an already susceptible colonisation successful further danger," said Peck. 

Sahota, Luu and a 3rd pharmacist linked to Fort William Medical Pharmacy each person further pending disciplinary hearings that person yet to beryllium scheduled. 

The latest allegations, referred to the assemblage connected March 24, impeach each of the 3 pharmacists of falsifying records and billing for medicine reviews that were ne'er conducted oregon done improperly, according to the college. 

Sahota besides faces allegations of taking oregon misappropriating drugs from the Fort William Medical Pharmacy.