A Montérégie pharmacist who was caught searching through the confidential medical records of some of her spouse’s colleagues, including one on 62 occasions, has just had her license revoked for two months.
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In January 2022, a colleague of Marie-Claude Gagnon’s husband discovered that he had viewed her medical records at the pharmacy where she works, in Marieville.
This health care professional, whose identity is protected by a publication ban, had never received services at Ms. Gagnon’s pharmacy. She therefore alerted the trustees of the Order of Pharmacists of Quebec.
The next day, the trustee received a second request to investigate: another colleague of Ms. Gagnon’s husband had discovered that he had consulted her Quebec Health File (DSQ). In this case, the pharmacist checked five times between 2019 and 2021.
The DSQ contains, among other things, health information about the medications a patient receives, their laboratory analysis results and medical imaging. Healthcare professionals, such as doctors, dentists and physiotherapists, have access to it, but are only allowed to consult their patients’ data.
She confesses everything
The pharmacist from Marieville was quickly received by the trustee of her professional mission. She immediately admitted accessing those individuals’ medical records “due to personal difficulties at the time,” the recent decision said.
“She states that she tried to get their personal address, but adds that she never went to these people’s houses or even passed by their houses,” we specify.
Ms. Gagnon also admitted to viewing the file of a third colleague. After checks, the trustee found that the pharmacist had taken a look no fewer than 62 times between 2014 and 2019.
“Given the confidentiality of the information contained in the DSQ and given that the legislature grants access only to a limited group of professionals, including pharmacists, these are serious violations,” stressed the disciplinary council of the Order of Pharmacists of Quebec.
The public must expect that “every pharmacist acts as one of the guardians of professional secrecy,” it says.
In February, another pharmacist, Réjean Lemay, was banned from practicing medicine for a month because he had viewed the file of a member of his circle at the request of a relative. In 2022, Salamicha Poirier was sentenced to two months’ professional ban for inspecting her ex-spouse’s files.
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