Virtual care doctor sanctioned for issuing improper cross-border prescription for unlicensed online pharmacy

An Alberta physician is facing sanctions for transmitting a prescription to an unlicensed online pharmacy and improperly providing virtual care across borders.Dr. Omatseye Edema has been ordered to complete a record-keeping course and a risk-management course, in addition to receiving a formal reprimand from the Hearing Tribunal of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Alberta (CPSA).As described in a tribunal decision that was made public on Aug. 5, 2026, Dr. Edema was found to have remotely issued a 200-day supply of domperidone 10 mg to a patient based in Florida back in May 2024, contravening the CPSA’s policy on virtual care.When it comes to physicians providing virtual care, rules vary across provinces. Some provinces, like B.C. and Ontario, only require that physicians providing virtual care help the patient find local in-person care provider if needed, and facilitate a referral pathway. However, in Alberta, the CPSA requires physicians to have a formal written agreement with a physical clinic near the patient’s location. In this case, Dr. Edema was found to have violated the CPSA’s virtual care policies, as he had no such arrangement with any local physical clinic in Florida. The domperidone prescription was also issued with the intent of being dispensed by Price Pro Pharmacy, an unlicensed B.C.-based pharmacy that targets Americans and operates online. The tribunal checked with the B.C. College of Pharmacists and confirmed that Price Pro was not a registered pharmacyOn top of that, domperidone is restricted by the U.S. FDA and can’t be acquired in the U.S. without special authorization from an American physician.Moreover, the website for his clinic—“Cucumber Health Virtual Medical Clinic”—had improperly advertised on the website that they could treat patients anywhere in the world. Cucumber Health also lacked the appropriate liability insurance coverage to provide care across jurisdictions.The tribunal also took issue with Cucumber Health’s website advertising that they could even prescribe opioids virtually. The CPSA’s rules state that opioids can only be prescribed if the physician has examined the patient in person, has a longitudinal treating relationship with the patient, or are in direct communication with another physician who has examined the patient. However, in this case, Dr. Edema was not accused of improperly prescribing any opioids.“With respect to the nature and gravity of the unprofessional conduct, they are sufficiently serious given the global context to providing virtual care and cosigning prescriptions for patients not seen and in foreign jurisdictions,” legal counsel for the college’s complaints director submitted. In his defence, Dr. Edema said Price Pro had reached out to him and that he was under the impression that he was simply called upon to review and verify prescriptions that were already initiated by U.S physicians.“He was under the impression that his role was to conduct an administrative safety review of prescriptions that had already been issued by U.S. physicians,” the tribunal’s summary of Dr. Edema’s response states. “He believed that since these patients had been seen, assessed and prescribed treatment by a licensed U.S. physician, his role was merely to verify the appropriateness of the medication before it was dispensed in Canada.”Dr. Edema also said he was unaware of how this conduct violated the CPSA’s virtual care policies and immediately ended his involvement with Price Pro upon learning. He also removed the problematic statements on the Cucumber Health website and added language to clarify that virtual services are restricted solely to Alberta residents. “He sincerely regrets this misunderstanding and has taken measures to prevent recurrence,” the tribunal wrote, summarizing Dr. Edema’s response.Given that Dr. Edema had co-operated with the investigation, admitted to the conduct and implemented corrective actions, the tribunal accepted the joint submission on sanctions, which proposed that he take a record keeping course and a risk management course with no fine or suspension.“The proposed sanctions can be summarized as a reprimand and two educational and practice improvement measures. Both parties agree that the written decision would serve as a reprimand,” the tribunal wrote. “The Tribunal is of the view that the proposed sanctions emphasize rehabilitation rather than punishment or deterrence.”

Virtual care doctor sanctioned for issuing improper cross-border prescription for unlicensed online pharmacy

Register for free access or login.

Related Topics