How does he know I’m on methadone? Door-to-door marketer was pharmacy owner who peeked at competitors’ patient files

A Saskatchewan pharmacy and two of its employees have been ordered to jointly pay $30,000 in fines and college costs after door-to-door canvassing by the pharmacy’s owner led to an investigation that revealed he had viewed patient records without authority or consent. About 100 of these breached files belonged to Saskatchewan residents who were not patients of 33rd Street Pharmacy, and who did not provide consent or even know their records were being viewed without their consent, according to the Saskatchewan College of Pharmacy Professionals. The pharmacy’s parent company, ST Enterprises Ltd., was fined $8,000 while two pharmacy managers—Olatunji Obidiya and Milind Patel—were each fined $5,000. All three parties must jointly pay $12,000 in investigation and hearing costs. The pharmacy’s owner and president, Sachinkumar (Sachin) Patel—who worked as a pharmacy assistant at the pharmacy but is not registered with the college—has been prohibited by the Saskatchewan Health Ministry from using the province’s eHealth and Pharmaceutical Information Program (PIP). He will be allowed access to the systems once he completes, at the pharmacy’s expense, an ethics and boundaries course as well as PIP training for trustees, approvers and the pharmacy. Read: When faxes go astray The privacy breaches came to light as a result of a call received by the college, from a sobbing patient who complained that an employee of 33rd Street Pharmacy came to her home with a pamphlet promoting the pharmacy. During this visit, the employee asked the patient to switch pharmacies and transfer her methadone prescription to 33rd Street. During a phone call with Obidiya, one of the pharmacy managers, a college investigator determined that it was the pharmacy owner who was going door-to-door and talking to residents about their prescriptions. Obidiya told the college he would tell Sachin Patel to stop doing this. The college investigator followed up with the patient and asked if she had any idea how Sachin Patel knew she was on methadone, given that she was not a 33rd Street patient. The patient responded in the negative and told the investigator the situation was causing her a great deal of stress. A subsequent review of eHealth and PIP records found that in April 2021, both Sachin Patel and Milind Patel—who was pharmacy manager as well as the privacy officer for the pharmacy—viewed the health records of about 100 patients who were not clients of 33rd Street Pharmacy. Read: Methadone bottles found in recycling bin leads to big fine Milind Patel and Obidiya acknowledged that none of these patients signed consent forms to allow access to their files, and that the files were not viewed for an authorized health purpose. Both Patel and Obidiya were reprimanded for failing, in their roles as pharmacy manager, to supervise Sachin Patel appropriately and to ensure proper access to confidential patient records. Because Sachin Patel is not a registered Saskatchewan pharmacist, the college was unable to impose any individual professional sanctions against him. Read: Penalty for pharmacist who gave flu shot to herself, family

How does he know I’m on methadone? Door-to-door marketer was pharmacy owner who peeked at competitors’ patient files

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