We recently became aware of two Edmonton area physicians who share the exact same first, last and middle name. Each with the name Dr. Navdeep Singh Dhaliwal, one physician is a general practitioner and the other is an emergency room physician.
The issue with the identical names became apparent when the emergency room physician received several notifications from the Triplicate Prescription Program (TPP) for prescriptions he did not write. Additionally, the emergency room physician has received prescription refill requests for patients whom were under the care of the other Dr. Navdeep Dhaliwal. This situation has not only led to pharmacists creating inaccurate patient records, but in some cases has disrupted patient care.
This story serves as a reminder that prescribers with identical names do exist; and, pharmacists and pharmacy technicians must be conscious of that fact when receiving a prescription with limited information. As outlined in Standard 6.6 in the Standards of Practice, remember to identify the prescriber and determine whether the prescriber is legally authorized to prescribe the drug or blood product for which the prescription has been given.
All pharmacists and pharmacy technicians are to ensure that they visit the Forgery Alerts section of our website for additional details on these two physicians, including what they are authorized to prescribe.
