Public Notifications

Pursuant to section 36 of the Health Professions Act, the Inquiry Committee has reached a Consent Agreement with Mr. Hong Yee Alan Choi, effective June 1, 2015.  This was the result of an investigation of Mr. Choi, pharmacy manager, in which a coroner’s report indicated a patient died from complications of multi-drug ingestion including methadone on a Sunday. This patient had recently restarted a maintenance methadone treatment program.  Mr. Choi dispensed methadone to the patient on a Saturday and provided the patient with an unauthorized carry for the next day - Sunday. The patient’s methadone prescription was for daily witness ingestion.  The investigation also identified that Mr. Choi routinely provided unauthorized carries for methadone daily witness ingestion patients. 

The Inquiry Committee considered this to be a serious matter under the Health Professions Act, and as such is published pursuant to section 39.3 of the Act.

Mr. Choi understands the seriousness of his actions in this matter and he has agreed to the following:

1. That he will no longer dispense methadone as part of patients’ methadone maintenance treatment program.

2. That if at any time in the future he wishes to dispense methadone as part of methadone maintenance treatment  program, he must receive approval from the College after meeting very specific requirements to dispense methadone.

3. That he will review relevant legislative framework documents that include Health Professions Act, (“HPA”), Bylaws, Schedule F, Part 1, Community Pharmacy Standards of Practice, in its entirety; HPA, Bylaws, Schedule A, Code of Ethics; Professional Practice Policy #24 – Depot Shipments of Prescriptions; and Pharmacy Operations and Drug Scheduling Act, Bylaws, section 21 – Data Collection, Transmission of and Access to PharmaNet Data; and submit a Declaration of Understanding to the Complaints Resolution Officer that confirms his understanding and future compliance.

4. That he will provide apology letters to all of the prescribers of those patients that he provided unauthorized methadone carries during August 2013 through to December 2013 and send copies of these letters to the College.

5. That he will pay a fine in the amount of five thousand ($5,000) dollars.

6. That a Letter of Reprimand will be placed on Mr. Choi’s College register.

The Inquiry Committee, pursuant to Section 36 of the Health Professions Act, has reached an agreement with the pharmacist registrant to suspend his registration as a pharmacist effective February 18, 2015. The agreement remains in effect until further notice. The Inquiry Committee considers the agreement necessary to protect the public. The pharmacist registrant's name has been withheld pursuant to 39.3(4) of the Health Professions Act.

(February 18, 2015 - Registration Suspended)

The Inquiry Committee, pursuant to Section 36 of the Health Professions Act, has reached an agreement with the pharmacist registrant whereby the registrant consented to undertakings involving regular monitoring for fitness to practice pharmacy. The undertakings include, but are not limited to:

1. Routine and random medical monitoring;

2. Informing all managers and employers with whom he gains employment of his medical condition and the need to maintain vigilance with respect to recovery and the possibility of relapse, and the limits and conditions on his registration pursuant to the agreement;

3. Ensuring that all managers and employers with whom he gains employment submits a written statement to the College declaring their awareness of his medical condition and the agreement;

4. To return to work gradually, in accordance with the recommendations of his physician;

5. To only be involved in the dispensing, ordering, contact, destruction, counting or otherwise handling of opiate and benzodiazepine type medications as long as a pharmacy assistant and/or pharmacy technician is also on duty at the same time and he takes oral Naltrexone (Revia) 50mg every day, witnessed by a pharmacy staff member at a pharmacy that agrees to perform this service, and that the pharmacy send the College written confirmation every month that the Registrant has done so, and the pharmacy is to contact the College immediately if there is any non-compliance by the Registrant.

6. Being restricted from the following roles in his practice:

   1. an owner or manager of a pharmacy;
   2. a director of a corporation that owns a pharmacy; and
   3. a preceptor.

    

7. Notifying the College of:

   1. all changes in his places of employment as a pharmacist
   2. all changes in residential address and phone number; and
   3. all changes in medical provider.

The agreement will remain in place for a minimum of five years of continuous pharmacy practice. The name of the Registrant has been withheld in accordance with section 39.3 (4) (a) of the Health Professions Act for the purposes of not identifying the personal health information of the Registrant respecting the condition. The Inquiry Committee is satisfied that the undertakings will protect the public.

(AUGUST 24, 2015 – LIMITS AND CONDITIONS REMOVED)

Christopher James Lewis has completed a term of suspension which ended on August 22, 2014, and his registration has been reinstated as of August 23, 2014.