An Edmonton pharmacist has been found guilty of unprofessional conduct by a hearing tribunal from the Alberta College of Pharmacy.

A third-party insurer says Si Huu Nguyen submitted hundreds of claims worth more than $100,000 in total that couldn’t be supported with matching inventory purchases.

The insurer also says Nguyen failed to comply with an audit and made false dispensing and storing records.

The tribunal found that Nguyen’s actions harmed the integrity of the profession and ordered a number of penalties:

  • a reprimand;
  • a suspension of Nguyen’s practice permit for a period of 12 months;
  • fines totalling $30,000;
  • Nguyen may not to be an owner, proprietor, or licensee of a pharmacy for a period of five years;
  • payment of all costs of the investigation and hearing (approximately $56,000);
  • Nguyen must provide a copy of the Tribunal’s written decision to the licensee of any pharmacy where he works as a pharmacist for five years; and
  • Nguyen must successfully complete ACP’s Ethics and Jurisprudence exam prior to reinstating as a pharmacist.

Nguyen is the licensee of V-Can Pharmacy in Edmonton, which closed in Dec. 2018.