Jason

Nature of Action: The Inquiry Committee of the College of Pharmacists of British Columbia (the “College”) conducted an investigation into the practice of Jason Jonathan Wong (the “Registrant”), pursuant to section 33(4) of the Health Professions Act, R.S.B.C. 1996, c. 183.

The Inquiry Committee and the Registrant have agreed to resolve all matters arising from the investigation by way of a Consent Agreement under section 36(1) of the Health Professions Act.

Effective date: November 27, 2018

Name of registrant: Jason Jonathan Wong

Location of Practice: Port Coquitlam, BC

Admissions and Acknowledgements:

Between January 1, 2014 and November 5, 2017, over 15,000 transactions for over-the-counter (“OTC”) and/or vitamin products were processed on a daily or weekly basis on the PharmaNet records of seven individuals. These seven individuals were not prescribed and had not received any of the OTC and/or vitamin products processed on their PharmaNet records, and had not consented to having these transactions on their PharmaNet records.

These transactions all originated from a pharmacy where the Registrant had worked as a full-time pharmacist.

The pharmacy’s manager at the time had directed pharmacy assistants to process these transactions on PharmaNet every Sunday in order to artificially inflate the pharmacy’s prescription count. The pharmacy assistants used the registration numbers of various pharmacist registrants as the dispensing pharmacist and/or prescriber for each transaction, without the consent and knowledge of these pharmacist registrants.

The Registrant has admitted and/or acknowledged the following:

1. He was aware that the pharmacy’s manager directed the processing of the transactions in order to artificially inflate the pharmacy’s prescription count;
    
2. When he had been the pharmacist on duty, he did not directly supervise the activities of the pharmacy assistants that had processed the transactions on Sundays;
    
3. He knew, or should have known, that:
   
   1. The processing of the transactions was an improper use and access of personal information;
       
   2. There was no patient consent to process the transactions;
       
   3. Pharmacy assistants are always to be directly supervised; and
       
   4. Pharmacists must personally review the PharmaNet record for all prescriptions processed;
       
4. Even though he knew about these transactions, he did not, at any time, make a report to the College about them.
    

Disposition:

The Registrant entered into a Consent Agreement with the College’s Inquiry Committee, wherein the Registrant consented to the following terms:

1. To suspend his registration as a pharmacist for a total of 60 days, commencing November 27, 2018;
    
2. To successfully pass the College’s Jurisprudence Exam;
    
3. To successfully complete and pass an ethics course for healthcare professionals;
    
4. To successfully complete and pass the “BC Community Pharmacy Manager Training Program” offered by the British Columbia Pharmacy Association;
    
5. To appear before the Inquiry Committee for a verbal reprimand; and
    
6. To have a Letter of Reprimand placed permanently on his registration record.

Rationale:

The Inquiry Committee was concerned that the Registrant did not take personal accountability and “turned a blind eye” to the improper practices for which he was aware, enabling the improper practices to continue for over three years. While the Registrant did not stand to gain financially from what occurred, it was his professional responsibility, to the public as well as the profession, to ensure that practice and ethical standards were being met at all times while on duty. As a member of a professional body, registrants are responsible not only for their own actions, but are accountable for others in the workplace when they know, or ought to know, that inappropriate practices were occurring and ongoing. His actions, or lack thereof, were contraventions of legislation involving protection of personal information and supervision of pharmacy assistants, He also contravened standards of the Code of Ethics involving protecting and promoting the well-being of patients, benefitting society, and committing to personal and professional integrity.

The Inquiry Committee also considered that the Registrant had previously consented to remedial undertakings to fully comply with ethical requirements, and he had breached these undertakings for this current matter. The Inquiry Committee therefore considered the Registrant’s conduct to be serious, and that the Registrant required significant remediation and deterrence in order to come into compliance.

The Inquiry Committee considered the terms of the Consent Agreement necessary to protect the public, as well as send a clear message of deterrence to the profession. Inappropriate access of personal health information, without consent, compromises the public’s trust in the pharmacy profession as a whole. At all times, registrants must uphold legislative requirements and ethical obligations to protect personal health information.