Licences of 2 Thunder Bay pharmacists suspended after misconduct

Two Thunder Bay pharmacists have had their professional licences suspended for several months after their provincial regulator found instances of misconduct, including breaking therapy guidelines for treating opioid use disorder. 

Jaspreet Sahota and Chi (Hao) Luu both admitted to committing misconduct while working at Fort William Medical Pharmacy during separate hearings before the Ontario College of Pharmacists on April 22 and May 5. 

The college investigated after receiving reports of numerous issues at the Victoria Avenue pharmacy in February and March 2023, including dispensing medications without a prescription, not checking dispensed medications and billing patients for medications that were never dispensed, according to an agreed statement of facts signed by Sahota.

Unregulated staff were dispensing methadone, the statement also said.

Sahota, who was the owner and designated manager of the pharmacy, received a 10-month licence suspension, a five-year ban from managing pharmacies and was required to pay $15,000 in costs to the college.

The college imposed a seven-month licence suspension on staff pharmacist Luu. He was also prohibited from acting as a pharmacy manager for one year and required to pay costs of $10,000. 

CBC reached out to Sahota by email and phone but did not receive a response by publication time. Luu declined to comment when contacted through his lawyer. 

CBC also contacted McKesson Canada, a corporation that provides support to independently owned pharmacies like Fort William Medical Pharmacy under the banners Guardian, I.D.A. and Remedy'sRx. 

"Guardian pharmacies are owned and operated by independent pharmacists who manage their own operations and are governed by the rules and regulations of their provincial regulatory body. The Fort William location is currently under receivership and is operating under new management," a McKesson Canada spokesperson said in an email to CBC. 

Lawyer Jordan Stone, who represented the college, said at Sahota's hearing that the clear pattern of multiple types of misconduct repeatedly occurring at Fort William Medical Pharmacy was an aggravating factor. 

"There's failures in a wide range of areas here. This is not just one element of Mr. Sahota's practice or the pharmacy's operation that fell below standards. We had issues across the board." 

An agreed statement of facts cites a March 2023 medication error where a patient was accidentally given a methadone dose 10 times stronger than their regular prescribed dose.

Methadone is a synthetic opioid that is frequently used to treat opioid use disorder. It's a type of opioid agonist treatment that reduces the risk of overdose in drug users by using medications to prevent withdrawal symptoms.

The patient was dispensed 250 milligrams of methadone instead of 25 milligrams, the statement said.