12-month suspension for pharmacist who used apartment as 'safe space' for drugs

An Alberta pharmacist and owner has been suspended for a year and fined $10,000 for storing drugs—including medications classified as controlled substances—and patient information at an unauthorized location. Azhar Qureshi, who owns five pharmacies in Edmonton, was ordered to serve three months’ suspension within six months of the hearing tribunal’s written decision, with the remaining nine months to be held in abeyance provided there are no further concerns about a repeat or continuance of his offence. He must also pay the Alberta College of Pharmacy’s costs and pass the college’s ethics and jurisprudence exam. As per a joint submission on sanctions, the college’s complaints director can prohibit Qureshi from acting as owner or licensee of a pharmacy should there be further concerns about removal of drugs and patient information from his stores. Qureshi’s misconduct was uncovered in February 2021 when Edmonton police, responding to his wife’s report that he was missing, found him in medical distress inside an apartment unit. Read: Not allowed to inject: Pharmacist who let unregulated staff give jabs is suspended and ordered to pay $12,500 Qureshi was taken to hospital and released the next day. In the meantime, police found a large quantity of previously dispensed drugs in the apartment. The prescription drugs had labels with patients’ names on them, and many of the drugs were expired or unused. About one-third of the drugs found in the apartment are controlled substances and the rest are listed under Canada’s Food and Drug Act, according to the hearing tribunal’s decision document. Police also found patient records in the apartment. In his defence, Qureshi explained that the apartment was not a personal residence but was a corporate office used to conduct business for his pharmacies as well as a “safe place” to gather expired and manufacturer-returned drugs prior. Read: Calgary pharmacist suspended for diverting meds for personal use To help manage loss prevention at his pharmacies, he took drugs slated for disposal to the apartment, where he sorted them for return to the appropriate distributor or disposal service. Qureshi explained that at the time, he believed it would be unsafe to keep the drugs at his pharmacies or in his home because of the pandemic. The day police found him in the apartment, he had fallen ill from an allergy and passed out after taking Benadryl. The college’s investigation found no evidence that Qureshi had trafficked, or had intended to traffic, any of the drugs found in the apartment. No charges were laid by Edmonton police. However, given that the apartment was not authorized to store medications or patient records, the college found that Qureshi had breached his responsibility to store drugs within licensed pharmacies and to keep patients’ health information secure. Read: Alberta requires pharmacies use time-delayed safes for narcotics

12-month suspension for pharmacist who used apartment as 'safe space' for drugs

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