19-month suspension, $60K in costs for pharmacy manager who sexually harassed pharm assistant then intimidated staff who talked to investigators

An Ontario pharmacy manager who made unwanted advances towards a pharmacy assistant on his team and carried on a non-professional, personal relationship with a patient has been suspended for 19 months and ordered to pay $60,000 in college investigation and hearing costs.Maged Guerguis, who practised in Burlington about an hour’s drive southwest of Toronto, was also found guilty of submitting or approving the submission of improper claims and charging for dispensing fees for compliance packages at intervals that were more frequent than the actual dispensing schedule.In a case summary posted on its website, the Ontario College of Pharmacists noted that Guergis tried to obstruct the college’s investigation by providing false or misleading information. He also intimidated pharmacy staff—through aggressive comments or behaviour—who were being interviewed by the college in relation to his case.The college found Guerguis guilty as well of instructing or permitting staff to open the pharmacy and dispense medications without the presence of a pharmacist. This breach of pharmacy standards and federal and provincial laws occurred numerous times between Jan. 15 and November 2021.Read: ‘A clear lack of knowledge and/or judgment’: Alberta pharmacist fined after allowing staffer to perform restricted duties unsupervised“The registrant failed in his role as a pharmacist and designated manager—his conduct was egregious,” the college wrote in its case summary. “The (discipline) panel found it to be disgraceful, dishonourable and unprofessional.”In its summary of the complaint involving the pharmacy assistant, the college stated that Guerguis engaged in conduct that consisted of “inappropriate comments, physical contact, unwelcome advances and/or harassment.”The college also concluded that Guerguis had failed to maintain the professional boundaries of the pharmacist-patient relationship when he developed and engaged in a personal relationship with a patient.In addition to imposing suspension and costs, the college ordered Guerguis to complete an ethics course for healthcare professionals and prohibited him from managing or owning a pharmacy for five years.Read: No trash-talking please: Suspended pharmacist disparaged pharmacy students he was supposed to mentor

19-month suspension, $60K in costs for pharmacy manager who sexually harassed pharm assistant then intimidated staff who talked to investigators

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