Pharmacist's actions were 'a deliberate and sophisticated system of deception,' tribunal says
An Auckland pharmacist has had his registration cancelled after the Health Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal (HPDT) found him guilty of professional misconduct, citing deliberate and sustained theft from his employer and illegal sales of pharmacy-only medicines.
Jayant Patel, a registered pharmacist since 2008, was found to have stolen over $126,000 worth of pharmaceutical products from his workplace between 2016 and 2020.
The stolen products, which included pharmacy-only medicines, were sold through online platforms, including Trade Me, using aliases such as "Pharmintrade" and "Winners1."
The misconduct came to light in 2020 after the pharmacy owner, a long-time friend and former university classmate of Patel, noticed stock discrepancies.
A private investigation confirmed the theft, leading to Patel's confession and subsequent criminal charges.
In May 2023, he was convicted in the District Court for theft by a person in a special relationship and sentenced to six months' community detention, 120 hours of community work, and a $1,500 emotional harm payment.
In a separate decision released this month, the HPDT said that Patel's misconduct was "deliberate, repeated and highly unethical," and amounted to malpractice within his scope of practice.
It also noted the severity of Patel's actions, which included...
Host Jonathan Porter welcomes to the show Husch Blackwell partner Brian Flood to discuss how newly appointed personnel in the Trump administration could impact False Claims Act (FCA) enforcement fo...