A Hearing Tribunal issued its written decision on the merit and sanctions regarding the conduct of a pharmacist who failed to fulfill his professional responsibilities and failed to meet his regulatory requirement to carry professional liability insurance (PLI) while on the clinical pharmacist register.
The pharmacist’s failures were determined by a Hearing Tribunal to be acts of unprofessional conduct. In its decision, the Hearing Tribunal affirmed the necessity for regulated members to fully comply with the declarations they provide to ACP and the requirement for pharmacists to maintain PLI while on the clinical pharmacist register (or, for pharmacy technicians, while on the pharmacy technician register). The Hearing Tribunal went on to outline that the autonomy ACP regulated members enjoy as members of a self-regulating profession must be supported by our regulated members’ steadfast fulfillment of their declarations.
As a pharmacist, or a pharmacy technician, you must take personal responsibility to ensure you make declarations that are accurate and will be maintained, and that you maintain the required amount and type of PLI while on the register.
In this matter, the Tribunal imposed costly penalties, even though the pharmacist’s actions were unintentional, he showed genuine remorse, there had been no previous history of unprofessional conduct on the part of the pharmacist, and there was no demonstrated patient harm. The Tribunal ordered
- a caution,
- a fine of $1000, and
- a payment of $2,000 towards the costs of the investigation and hearing.
Rationale for the Tribunal’s decision is reflected in its following statements:
[The pharmacist] demonstrated a lack of knowledge, skill and judgment in the provision of professional services by failing to properly understand his insurance policy coverage and ensure he held the required personal professional liability insurance for the periods outlined in the Notice of Hearing. [The pharmacist] was aware that he had to have the proper professional liability insurance, he just did not have the skill or judgment to confirm that the liability insurance he had obtained covered the requisite personal professional liability.
… … …
Finally, [the pharmacist’s] conduct also undermined the integrity of the profession because the public expects that the actions of a pharmacist are covered by personal liability insurance in the event a patient suffers a loss due to an error in the pharmacist’s work.
Pharmacists and pharmacy technicians – incorporate these lessons into your approach to professional declarations and maintaining PLI:
- Review your professional obligations described in any declarations related to your registration and in maintaining proper PLI. Excellent information about the declarations and PLI requirements can be found in the Guidelines for audits of professional declarations section of the ACP website. Information is also customarily sent to regulated members via email during the renewal period.
- Keep your PLI information current in the My profile section of myACP.
- Review specific information about PLI requirements found in ACP Bylaws.
- During the completion of your practice permit renewal application, review your PLI document and make note of the expiry date to ensure continuity of coverage.
- Review and understand all aspects of all declarations you provide to ACP. If you are not certain about what you are declaring, DON’T guess or assume. Clarify any uncertainty you might have BEFORE making your declaration.
- If you think you need help understanding or fulfilling a declaration, ask for and accept assistance BEFORE making your declaration.
- Do not allow your personal circumstances to negatively affect your professional obligations.
- Don’t assume others, including your PLI provider or employer, will renew your PLI for you. Take personal responsibility to implement and maintain a system to ensure your PLI is always in place and active.
