Pursuant to section 36(1) of the Health Professions Act, the Inquiry Committee has reached an Agreement with David Zhao (the “Registrant”) to suspend his registration as a pharmacist for 365 consecutive days commencing September 4, 2018.
The Registrant acknowledged that between March 6, 2016 and January 18, 2017, while engaged in the practice of pharmacy as a pharmacist and pharmacy manager, he processed 526 false prescription claims to his insurance provider for reimbursement. The Registrant acknowledged that by processing false prescriptions, he also falsified pharmacy drug and inventory records.
The Registrant also acknowledged that while he was pharmacy manager, he was responsible for multiple practice deficiencies including processing prescriptions for his family members to artificially increase the pharmacy’s prescription count, engaging in a conflict of interest, and backdating prescriptions (meaning that dispensing records for these prescriptions were created on dates later than the dates on which the drugs in question were actually dispensed).
Prior to reinstatement of his registration following the suspension period, the Registrant will be required to:
- Meet with the Inquiry Committee to discuss his reflections on his conduct and what he has learned; and
- Complete an ethics course at his own expense.
The Registrant will also be limited from being a manager, direct owner and/or indirect owner of a pharmacy for a period of three years from the date his suspension ends (commencing September 4, 2019).
The Inquiry Committee considers this agreement necessary to protect the public, as well as send a clear message to the profession that the College does not tolerate this type of conduct.