From the National Post:
A Downtown Eastside pharmacy has been told to close its doors amid allegations it provided cash kickbacks to addicts filling methadone prescriptions.
The AYC Pharmacy on East Hastings has had its licence suspended and was ordered to close indefinitely after an investigation by the College of Pharmacists, according to CBC News. The pharmacy must close by Dec. 1, but will operate on shortened hours until then so customers can find another place to fill prescriptions.
The college said the closure was a result of "medicine-management" issues involving patient safety, according to CBC.
The pharmacy is also being investigated by the Ministry of Health over allegations that it provided drug addicts with cash inducements to fill methadone prescriptions. Methadone is sometimes prescribed to drug users as an alternative to heroin.
B.C. pharmacies are paid $8.60 each time they dispense a drug. If pharmacies dispense methadone and supervise the patient as they take it, they receive an additional $7.70. ...more
Showing posts with label BC methadone kickback scandal. Show all posts
Showing posts with label BC methadone kickback scandal. Show all posts
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Friday, September 12, 2008
Doctors call methadone kickbacks a 'big problem'
From the Vancouver Province:
Addictions doctors in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside have complained for months about pharmacists luring heroin addicts for their lucrative methadone prescriptions, and say rules around dispensing fees have to change.
"A lot of doctors have been frustrated by this," said Dr. Stan deVlaming, medical director for Inner City Primary Health Care for Vancouver Coastal Health Authority. "There have been numerous complaints spread over months for at least a year. . . It's a big problem, not a small one."
Heroin addicts prescribed methadone, which quells cravings, are getting kickbacks for filling their prescriptions at certain pharmacies, particularly in the Downtown Eastside and in Whalley's downtown in Surrey.
Offering incentives is against PharmaCare rules and the B.C. College of Pharmacists and B.C. Health are investigating. ...more
Addictions doctors in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside have complained for months about pharmacists luring heroin addicts for their lucrative methadone prescriptions, and say rules around dispensing fees have to change.
"A lot of doctors have been frustrated by this," said Dr. Stan deVlaming, medical director for Inner City Primary Health Care for Vancouver Coastal Health Authority. "There have been numerous complaints spread over months for at least a year. . . It's a big problem, not a small one."
Heroin addicts prescribed methadone, which quells cravings, are getting kickbacks for filling their prescriptions at certain pharmacies, particularly in the Downtown Eastside and in Whalley's downtown in Surrey.
Offering incentives is against PharmaCare rules and the B.C. College of Pharmacists and B.C. Health are investigating. ...more
Tuesday, September 09, 2008
Pharmacies accused of paying kickbacks to drug addicts
From the Globe and Mail:
Pharmacies that offer cash incentives to drug addicts for their daily methadone prescriptions are under investigation by the B.C. College of Pharmacists and PharmaCare, the provincial government's drug-insurance plan.
“I can confirm that we have an active investigation … but I am not in a position to reveal any details,” Lori DeCou, a college spokesperson, said yesterday in an interview.
Bernadette Murphy, a spokesperson for PharmaCare, said the provincial agency was working with other authorities. “The investigation has been going on for some months,” she said.
Helen Weiss, who has been working at the Native Health Society Medical Centre for six years, said yesterday five or six pharmacies in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside have posed problems for years.
Methadone is prescribed to addicts as a substitute for heroin. To ensure that the addicts consume the drug and do not resell it on the street, the pharmacists are expected to watch the addicts as they drink the methadone. ...more
Pharmacies that offer cash incentives to drug addicts for their daily methadone prescriptions are under investigation by the B.C. College of Pharmacists and PharmaCare, the provincial government's drug-insurance plan.
“I can confirm that we have an active investigation … but I am not in a position to reveal any details,” Lori DeCou, a college spokesperson, said yesterday in an interview.
Bernadette Murphy, a spokesperson for PharmaCare, said the provincial agency was working with other authorities. “The investigation has been going on for some months,” she said.
Helen Weiss, who has been working at the Native Health Society Medical Centre for six years, said yesterday five or six pharmacies in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside have posed problems for years.
Methadone is prescribed to addicts as a substitute for heroin. To ensure that the addicts consume the drug and do not resell it on the street, the pharmacists are expected to watch the addicts as they drink the methadone. ...more
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