A Winnipeg pharmacist has been convicted of fraud and reprimanded by his profession's regulatory assemblage aft years of taking drugs from his pharmacy to provender his ain addiction.
Manitoba's College of Pharmacists gave Scott Putz an 18-month suspension and ordered him to wage a $15,000 fine, positive $10,000 for costs of the investigation, for stealing stimulants for his ain consumption.
Details of the lawsuit were revealed successful a outpouring variation of the regulator's newsletter.
The regulator's determination came successful 2025 because it was forced to intermission its probe portion a constabulary probe took place.
Winnipeg constabulary charged Putz successful 2021 with fraud implicit $5,000. In precocious 2023, helium was fixed a suspended condemnation aft pleading blameworthy to the charge.
Court documents accidental that successful 2021, Putz met with College of Pharmacists of Manitoba unit and admitted helium had taken controlled substances from the pharmacy for his ain consumption.
Putz told the assemblage helium had been doing that for astir 3 oregon 4 years and "advised that helium was suffering from substance maltreatment issues," the tribunal documents say.
The probe recovered grounds that the medicine Putz took included stimulants sometimes utilized to dainty ADHD, specified arsenic amphetamine and dextroamphetamine.
When that came to light, the assemblage suspended Putz's pharmacist licence connected an interim basis.
After the transgression complaint was dealt with, the assemblage resumed its probe successful February 2024.
The college's researcher recovered video footage from March 2021 showing Putz taking medicine from the harmless astatine the pharmacy wherever helium worked, placing it into a insubstantial container and taking it to the beforehand of the pharmacy, wherever helium past counted retired medicine and placed it successful his pocket, the college's disciplinary determination says.
Putz was handed an 18-month suspension from practice but was credited for 17 months spent successful an interim suspension from 2021-23.
His pharmacist's licence was reinstated successful April 2024 with additional conditions. They included submitting to regular cause and intoxicant screening, moving constricted hours, being monitored by a pharmacy unit subordinate and attending biweekly counselling sessions.
When contacted by CBC News, helium declined to remark connected the case.
The College of Pharmacists of Manitoba said it can't remark connected cases beyond what's stated successful published decisions.
Neely Hammerberg, communications co-ordinator for the college, did say the lawsuit highlights addiction issues successful the pharmacy profession.
"We promote immoderate registrants who whitethorn beryllium struggling with addiction to prioritize diligent information and to scope retired to [the college] for enactment and guidance," Hammerberg wrote successful an email to CBC.
Fentanyl medicine mix-up
Two different disciplinary cases were besides posted successful the college's outpouring 2025 newsletter.
In 1 of the cases, a Manitoba pharmacist was disciplined implicit a medicine mix-up.
Instead of a diligent getting a fentanyl lollipop, arsenic prescribed by a CancerCare doc due to the fact that it provides intermittent doses, the diligent was fixed fentanyl patches, the determination says.
The patches effect successful continuous transportation of fentanyl each hour, which tin beryllium unsafe successful a diligent who hasn't developed a tolerance for it.
"Such a dose per hr tin beryllium unsafe oregon adjacent fatal," the December 2024 determination says.
The statement for the medicine was prepared by a antithetic pharmacist, but the determination says the disciplined pharmacist, who was connected work erstwhile the medicine was picked up, should person reviewed the medicine and provided counselling to the patient. If he'd done so, the errors could person been caught.
The pharmacist was required to wage a good of $1,500, positive $3,000 for investigative costs. Through his lawyer, helium declined to remark connected the case.
Patient goes without medication
In the 3rd lawsuit successful the college's astir caller newsletter, a pharmacist was disciplined for an mistake that resulted successful a diligent going without indispensable medicine for much than 2 months.
Because of that, the diligent had to acquisition a bid of procedures to prevention their transplanted kidney from rejection, including an exigency kidney biopsy.
In 2021, the pharmacist signed disconnected connected a kidney transplant patient's prescriptions for anti-rejection medications arsenic having been from a prescriber astatine St. Boniface Hospital, erstwhile successful information the prescriber was astatine Health Sciences Centre.
As a effect of the mistake successful location, erstwhile the diligent needed a medicine refill a twelvemonth aboriginal and the disciplined pharmacist nary longer worked astatine the pharmacy, the pharmacy sent the petition to the clinic astatine St. Boniface, the assemblage disciplinary sheet found. The idiosyncratic had ne'er been a diligent astatine St. Boniface.
Jennifer Sokal, the pharmacist's lawyer, told CBC her lawsuit had entered the close accusation for the prescriber, but the prescriber's illustration showed an code for a infirmary wherever the prescriber nary longer worked.
Sokal said it's not wide wherefore the session didn't counsel the pharmacy that the prescriber nary longer worked there, which is what would usually happen.
When the HSC session contacted the diligent for a regular followup appointment, the diligent had not taken the medicine for much than 2 months, the determination says.
At a January 2025 hearing, the pharmacist admitted to the allegations successful the case, and admitted to different disciplinary charges, specified arsenic failing to instrumentality each tenable steps to forestall nonaccomplishment oregon theft of narcotics and controlled drugs.
He was fined $3,500, positive ordered to wage $4,000 for costs.
The determination says helium "showed large remorse for his involvement" successful the kidney transplant patient's antagonistic wellness outcome.
The subject sheet recognized that the pharmacist was successful a "very stressful situation," due to the fact that the proprietor of the pharmacy was distant connected aesculapian leave, putting the pharmacist into the relation of pharmacy manager without capable grooming oregon guidance, the determination says.
The COVID-19 pandemic besides was raging successful 2021 and 2022 erstwhile events successful the lawsuit unfolded, resulting successful the pharmacist losing a household subordinate and being "unable to grieve properly," it says.
The pharmacist responded to CBC's petition for remark successful an email from his lawyer to accidental helium was a inferior pharmacist astatine the clip and caller to pharmacy management.
"There were immense pressures connected pharmacists during this clip astatine the tallness of the COVID-19 pandemic and, aft moving arsenic the pharmacy manager for 3 months, I made the determination to measurement backmost from the role," helium said.
"I was distressed erstwhile I learned of my errors. I americium precise atrocious for the errors I made erstwhile I was a novice pharmacy manager and for the interaction immoderate of the errors whitethorn person had connected immoderate patients."
Since the events successful the case, the pharmacist has undergone important grooming and has been a pharmacy manager since 2023 without incident, helium said.