False advertising? Pharmacist owner of 'telepharmacy' company slapped with $12,500 fine

A Quebec pharmacist and owner of an online pharmacy platform has been fined $12,500 for failing to state clearly on the platform’s website and other marketing material that the business is owned by a pharmacist. Sonia Boutin, owner of Pharmacie Sonia Boutin Inc., and the Medzy Inc., online platform, must also pay all investigation and hearing expenses, according to the decision document issued by he disciplinary board of the Ordre des pharmaciens du Québec. “In its advertisements, Medzy appears to be a pharmaceutical company separate and independent from the respondent's pharmacy,” wrote the disciplinary board. “It is precisely this element which grounds the requests for investigations and concerns the complainant.” The penalty came just weeks after Medzy announced a partnership with Segic Inc., a Québec software-as-a-service company that provides an online management platform for insurance and group benefits. Read: Medzy and Segic partner to offer online pharmacy services through Segic's Benefits Marketplace According to the board, an analysis of the Medzy website—which was updated recently to prominently display its pharmacist ownership—and the Medzy page on Facebook found Boutin’s name was either displayed “too discreetly” or did not appear at all. “Indeed, if it appears, it is at the end of the advertisement or the site, in small print, like on the Medzy site, under the “‘Operation’ tab,” wrote the board. “Medzy appears to be a completely independent company, far removed from the concepts of pharmacy and pharmacology.” This could have caused confusion for the public, who may have believed that activities reserved for pharmacists “can be carried out by any person, natural or legal, who does not is not a pharmacist,” wrote the board. The board noted that Boutin has been helpful throughout the investigation. However, it also pointed out that she had studied law and was a member of the bar, and knows the laws and standards that apply to the pharmacy profession. Read: How to make your mark with marketing “(Boutin) acknowledges that the advertisements of its company Medzy led the public to believe that this company carried out the preparation, sale and substitution of drug therapy,” wrote the board. “(She) admits that it was not obvious to potential clients that it was she, as a pharmacist who owns her pharmacy, who was going to carry out reserved activities as part of the exercise of her profession.” A 2021 press release, which described Medzy as “Québec’s main telepharmacy platform” and which identified Pharmacie Sonia Boutin as an affiliated pharmacy, tallied the total number of Medzy platform users at more than 10,000. At the time of the release, Medzy had just acquired a competitor, POSO+. Read: Alberta College of Pharmacy reminds pharmacists about new regulations

False advertising? Pharmacist owner of 'telepharmacy' company slapped with $12,500 fine

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