College to hold hearing into pharmacist who took naloxone kits door to door

CAMBRIDGE — The Ontario College of Pharmacists will hold a hearing into allegations of professional misconduct regarding a pharmacist who went door to door in a Cambridge neighbourhood offering naloxone kits free of charge.

This week, it announced that a public hearing by a college committee would be held for Jason Newman, a pharmacist at Delaware Pharmacy located outside of London. The hearing follows an investigation by the college. A date has yet to be set.

Allegations posted on the college website say Newman failed to maintain a standard of practice of the profession and that he “engaged in conduct or performed an act relevant to the practice of pharmacy that ... would reasonably be regarded by members of the profession as disgraceful, dishonourable or unprofessional.”

The allegations include:

• Dispensing naloxone kits “to patients without regard to individual need and/or clinical appropriateness”

• That he or his employees “misleadingly claimed” they were representatives of a government program when soliciting naloxone kits

• That he “improperly directed or permitted non-pharmacist employees or agents to dispense naloxone kits to patients in the community”

• That he solicited or permitted the solicitation of patients without complying with disclosure requirements.

Newman said Thursday he did not want to comment on the case because he did not want to affect the outcome of the hearing.

“We’re not able to disclose any further details about the nature of the allegations, other than what’s on the public register,” said college spokesperson Todd Leach. He said further details will be released at the hearing.

In late May, Newman and two assistants went door to door in a Galt neighbourhood offering residents the drug naloxone in both a needle and nasal spray kit. The drug can temporarily reverse an opioid overdose.

Newman said at the time that he trained residents who wanted a kit. He then collected their health card information, which he submitted to the province in order to be reimbursed for the cost of the kit.

Newman said he targeted neighbourhoods that had a higher risk of opioid use. He said he had already handed out kits in a similar manner in London, Hamilton, Toronto and Windsor.

He said by offering the kits to residents at their door, he was helping people avoid the stigma associated with asking for a kit in a pharmacy. He also said he was helping communities at risk.

Some Cambridge residents who were offered the kit raised questions about the usefulness of receiving a kit if they weren’t drug users, while others praised Newman’s actions.

When the Region of Waterloo’s public health department became aware of what Newman was doing in May, it contacted the Ontario College of Pharmacists with the information.

“This is not a usual form of naloxone distribution,” Julie Kalbfleisch, spokesperson with public health told The Record at the time.

Soon after, the college decided, due to concerns raised by the public, to confirm that it was investigating Newman.

Newman maintained he had done nothing wrong and adhered to all the guidelines for dispensing naloxone.