Pharmacist reprimanded

A NSW-based pharmacist has been reprimanded by the Health Care Complaints Commission (HCCC) and has had a number of conditions imposed on his registration after admitting to stealing from the pharmacy he worked at in up until Jan 2018.

The pharmacist also failed to report he had been charged in relation to the offence, to the Pharmacy Board of Australia within a seven-day period, as mandated by the Health Practitioner Regulation National Law.

The HCCC heard the pharmacist was observed taking diabetes medication, Januvia on 10 Jan 2018, and was subsequently dismissed.

The pharmacist, who had worked in the store since 2010, initially as a pharmacy assistant, before gaining registration in 2015, admitted to taking in excess of $2,000-worth of stock, over a 30-day period leading up to his termination.

HCCC papers noted the circumstances surrounding the pharmacist’s offending included the pharmacist being informed the store was under-performing across a series of criteria, including spending more than five minutes dispensing prescriptions and encouraging customers to purchase “add-ons”, which placed him under considerable pressure.

The pharmacist said he felt unable to raise concerns with his manager or the owner, who was becoming “increasingly anxious about the pharmacy’s poor financial performance”.

Following the termination of his employment, the pharmacist reported feeling depression and was referred to a psychologist, who told the HCCC he may have been clinically depressed at the time of the offences.

The psychologist added that the pharmacist posed “no real and material threat of re-offending” in the future.

The HCCC reprimanded the pharmacist and ordered him to seek treatment from a psychologist, who will be required to inform the Board of failure or termination of treatment, while the pharmacists must also undergo mentoring by an experienced pharmacist.