Walgreens pharmacy tech in California accused of impersonating a pharmacist and PIC for ~12 years

[Sine Cura]

Case pending: DCA - Search Details

Accusations:

• Some Walgreens locations had dispensed various written controlled substance prescriptions on invalid prescription forms
  
• Pharmacy technician employed by Walgreens had verified some of the above prescriptions
• This tech was employed as a pharmacist and PIC at various Walgreens locations in the Bay Area from November 2006 to October 2018. It appears the accused tech passed off someone else's RPH license (RPH not employed by Walgreens) as her own
• Walgreens did not have any evidence of the accused tech having graduated from Creighton University though the tech claimed she did.
  
• Accused pharmacy tech respondent said the following: "Me and my son would be very grateful if you could just forget about this," "I will pay whatever fine, "not coming back to work as a pharmacist"
• Accused tech had verified 745,355 prescriptions, including 100,701 controlled substance prescriptions, along with performing other duties reserved only to a pharmacy intern or pharmacist.

My observations: LOLWalgreens must have been really desperate to hire pharmacists during the tail end of the "pharmacist shortage" period. Wonder how co-workers didn't notice that this person was (probably) not competent to be a pharmacist. Or maybe it's an indictment of Walgreens DMs that couldn't tell this person wasn't qualified.

Also all the cited dispensings of invalid prescriptions are probably fake prescriptions since most of them were Xanax 2 mg

Almost 12 years!

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[owlegrad]

Wow! 12 years! How did no one notice that in all that time?


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[Sine Cura]

I want wagrxm2000 " It's pretty much impossible for anything to go wrong" to chime in on this.

 

[lord999]

That's a definitely fired RxS/DM at this point. I'm curious how big the fine is going to be if not shutdown.

 

[Sine Cura]

Also the output of 62k Rx verified a year for the accused compares to mine ~45k a year (data entry) currently in California.

Scary

 

[297point1]

You know every PBM doing business in California will be sending an audit team to every Walgreens in the Bay Area in the next week.

 

[Momus]

How did he get caught?

Pay "whatever fine" lol. He wished it ware only fines...

 

[lord999]

How did he get caught?

Pay "whatever fine" lol. He wished it ware only fines...

My guess is that the Board cited the pharmacy for issues related to their special control substance triplicate forms, cited "Kim T Le" as the PIC, the real Kim T Le got the notice and immediately notified the Board that it wasn't her and that she had worked and currently works for Sutter for her entire career (probably even going into the Sacramento office from Davis), and then the Board did a WTF call to Walgreens. It's serious enough that I can see CA revoking the pharmacy license as that's been the precedent in the past for this behavior.

There aren't exactly a high variety of Vietnamese names, but CA knows better than to blow this up.

 

[projektreverb]

Also the output of 62k Rx verified a year for the accused compares to mine ~45k a year (data entry) currently in California.

Scary

I mean, that's 259 scripts a day verified, if you do 20 working days a month for 12 months a year. Maybe a little higher per day count if you factor in paid vacation, and that person isn't verifying scripts in that time. Granted it should have been 0, but my point is that's a fairly slow Walgreens. Around corporate, most wags do like 800-1000 scripts a day based on what I've heard.

 

[projektreverb]

OK, I read thru this case. I'm honestly shocked things went on that long before she got caught. What's the process at Walgreens for verifying someone's license before they start working?

 

[HandsomeVampire]

I am incredibly shocked how did this happen. How did no one noticed this for so long. So much prescription went out without being verified by a licensed pharmacist. What about the drug interactions, the contra-indications, etc. Hope the patient was not hurt from this.
Wow this is crazy.

 

[CetiAlphaFive]

This just goes to show that retail pharmacy is truly a joke

 

[njac]

I guess this explains why the hospital asks for a hard copy of my license every time I Renew it.


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[owlegrad]

I guess this explains why the hospital asks for a hard copy of my license every time I Renew it.


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But how do they know you are the 'real' njac????

 

[Modest_anteater]

How did he get caught?

Pay "whatever fine" lol. He wished it ware only fines...

is this criminal jail time? fraud?

 

[Doctorishere12345]

Case pending: DCA - Search Details

Accusations:

• Some Walgreens locations had dispensed various written controlled substance prescriptions on invalid prescription forms
  
• Pharmacy technician employed by Walgreens had verified some of the above prescriptions
• This tech was employed as a pharmacist and PIC at various Walgreens locations in the Bay Area from November 2006 to October 2018. It appears the accused tech passed off someone else's RPH license (RPH not employed by Walgreens) as her own
• Walgreens did not have any evidence of the accused tech having graduated from Creighton University though the tech claimed she did.
  
• Accused pharmacy tech respondent said the following: "Me and my son would be very grateful if you could just forget about this," "I will pay whatever fine, "not coming back to work as a pharmacist"
• Accused tech had verified 745,355 prescriptions, including 100,701 controlled substance prescriptions, along with performing other duties reserved only to a pharmacy intern or pharmacist.

My observations: LOLWalgreens must have been really desperate to hire pharmacists during the tail end of the "pharmacist shortage" period. Wonder how co-workers didn't notice that this person was (probably) not competent to be a pharmacist. Or maybe it's an indictment of Walgreens DMs that couldn't tell this person wasn't qualified.

Also all the cited dispensings of invalid prescriptions are probably fake prescriptions since most of them were Xanax 2 mg

Almost 12 years!

Is this case still going? what happen to her next?

 

[WVUPharm2007]

That's some quality flimflammery. That's well over $1 million of ill gotten salary. I'd just pack up the kid, sell everything I had, and move to Vietnam before Johnny Law fully catches up with me. Could live pretty well there assuming she saved a chunk of it.

 

[PharmDBro2017]

NotevenmadImimpressed.gif

 

[Sine Cura]

Is this case still going? what happen to her next?

This case is pending

I also want to point out that someone made this tech (whose tech license expired in 2008 BTW) an intern (July 2001 to Nov 2006) and then a PIC in 2016 (whoever did is probably terminated from employment at Walgreens by now).

Also want to point out that this guy was arrested while apparently nothing has yet happened to the accused. I'm not a lawyer, but false impersonation is a crime

 

[awval999]

This case is pending

I also want to point out that someone made this tech (whose tech license expired in 2008 BTW) an intern (July 2001 to Nov 2006) and then a PIC in 2016 (whoever did is probably terminated from employment at Walgreens by now).

Also want to point out that this guy was arrested while apparently nothing has yet happened to the accused. I'm not a lawyer, but false impersonation is a crime

What heads roll at WAGs for this? And how many

I'm not familiar with WAGs hierarchy. If she was the PIC, who do the PICs report to? A district manager? Who does the DM report to? At our hospital the manager is responsible per policy for personally validating the license.

WAGs may literally get their pharmacy licenses for those stores permanently revoked.

 

[Lnsean]

This was intentional; there should be a heavy fine and jail time.

 

[wagrxm2000]

I want wagrxm2000 " It's pretty much impossible for anything to go wrong" to chime in on this.

First I'm honored that you think about me seeing as I barely post here anymore since it's just the same complaining over and over again.

Anyways what's that have anything to do with being a PIC and having zero worries about getting in trouble?

Please show me a case where a PIC got in trouble and they weren't being completely oblivious. Don't worry, I'll wait.

 

[Sine Cura]

I was referring to you in jest because you were saying Walgreens has policies and procedures in place to make it near-impossible to run afoul of regulations (which every company has BTW) and implying they are stupid-proof.

 

[CetiAlphaFive]

First I'm honored that you think about me seeing as I barely post here anymore since it's just the same complaining over and over again.

Anyways what's that have anything to do with being a PIC and having zero worries about getting in trouble?

Please show me a case where a PIC got in trouble and they weren't being completely oblivious. Don't worry, I'll wait.

That's circular logic

 

[wagrxm2000]

That's circular logic

I'm just waiting for a case.

Any PIC at a Walgreens knows how far Walgreens goes to make sure everything is done correctly. There's essentially no purpose of the PIC nowadays.

It is very easy for a PIC to get themselves in trouble if they intentionally don't follow or are being oblivious.

 

[CetiAlphaFive]

I'm just waiting for a case.

Any PIC at a Walgreens knows how far Walgreens goes to make sure everything is done correctly. There's essentially no purpose of the PIC nowadays.

It is very easy for a PIC to get themselves in trouble if they intentionally don't follow or are being oblivious.

I mean that the reason you're waiting for a case is that youre using circular logic.

Doubling down on it doesn't make it less circular

 

[wagrxm2000]

I mean that the reason you're waiting for a case is that youre using circular logic.

Doubling down on it doesn't make it less circular

Find a case then.

 

[CetiAlphaFive]

Find a case then.

You sound like Brian Fantana

 

[BenJammin]

Something similar happened in Dallas about 5 years ago. A physician was busted for being fake at our local children's hospital. I believe he got found out when he told nursing staff that he didn't know how to do CPR.

 

[wagrxm2000]

You sound like Brian Fantana

Like I originally said, I'm honored for being thought of for this thread but go back and read that other thread. People were just making excuses.

 

[Doctorishere12345]

This case is pending

I also want to point out that someone made this tech (whose tech license expired in 2008 BTW) an intern (July 2001 to Nov 2006) and then a PIC in 2016 (whoever did is probably terminated from employment at Walgreens by now).

Also want to point out that this guy was arrested while apparently nothing has yet happened to the accused. I'm not a lawyer, but false impersonation is a crime

pending? She's probably in Vietnam right now and enjoy coconut drink and the beach

Does Walgreen require their pharmacist to hang their license or certification on the wall? If she used the fake license to hang on the wall, how DM and other pharmacists not know she's a fake for 12 years.

 

[Apotheker2015]

I just skimmed through the document. So forgive me if this is an ignorant question. I see that this person claimed to be a pharmacy intern, then a pharmacist and Pharmacy Manager. Isn't the Board of Pharmacy at fault here, as well? Unless rules in California are different, anytime you hire a new pharmacy manager, you have to submit a PIC change form, and with that you have to submit the person's license number.

 

[Doctorishere12345]

I just skimmed through the document. So forgive me if this is an ignorant question. I see that this person claimed to be a pharmacy intern, then a pharmacist and Pharmacy Manager. Isn't the Board of Pharmacy at fault here, as well? Unless rules in California are different, anytime you hire a new pharmacy manager, you have to submit a PIC change form, and with that you have to submit the person's license number.

The license number she submitted is real but not for her. There is no face picture in the profile or form so they assumed she is a real person since she got the same name.

 

[Apotheker2015]

The license number she submitted is real but not for her. There is no face picture in the profile or form so they assumed she is a real person since she got the same name

LOL, thank you! That makes more sense. Then, in that case, it sounds like maybe the BOP ought to require you submit a picture ID with your PIC change form. Seems like an easy solution. Yes, Walgreens is at fault, but again, the BOP's process is also faulty.

 

[ChalupaBatman86]

I guess this is why Mississippi pharmacist licenses have a photo like a drivers license. Maybe more states should do the same.


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[Apotheker2015]

I guess this is why Mississippi pharmacist licenses have a photo like a drivers license. Maybe more states should do the same.


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Yet, a better solution. The BOPs process is faulty. We shall see if Walgreens thinks of pointing that out.

 

[CetiAlphaFive]

Like I originally said, I'm honored for being thought of for this thread but go back and read that other thread. People were just making excuses.

I mean, you are the Walgreens-Internet-Defense-Force on SDN.

The fact that you responded to light banter by storming in and demanding a case is just too perfect.

Cheers

 

[wagrxm2000]

I mean, you are the Walgreens-Internet-Defense-Force on SDN.

The fact that you responded to light banter by storming in and demanding a case is just too perfect.

Cheers

The problem is people keep telling these new grads to stay away from rxm positions due to the risk or extra work when it's the safest and easier job.

I might say many things to defend Walgreens but it's just the truth, you want security, be an rxm.

 

[BenJammin]

The problem is people keep telling these new grads to stay away from rxm positions due to the risk or extra work when it's the safest and easier job.

Very true. I said it two years ago that these pharmacists who avoid PIC jobs will eventually get to a point where that position is the only way to get 40 hours a week. Kroger just did that in Dallas and next will be Walgreens.

 

[mentos]

LOL, thank you! That makes more sense. Then, in that case, it sounds like maybe the BOP ought to require you submit a picture ID with your PIC change form. Seems like an easy solution. Yes, Walgreens is at fault, but again, the BOP's process is also faulty.

To be honest, even if there were a photo I doubt anyone would notice or distinguish between two different Vietnamese people. At work, people can't tell the difference between a Vietnamese and a Philippino who look nothing alike and have completely different skin tone.

 

[lord999]

To be honest, even if there were a photo I doubt anyone would notice or distinguish between two different Vietnamese people. At work, people can't tell the difference between a Vietnamese and a Philippino who look nothing alike and have completely different skin tone.

Sigh, I think you know the implications, but cant say I haven't experienced it. We all have black hair, brown/back eyes, yellow skin tone, omit articles , pronounce the thorn digraph as d, and gormless, amirite?! It used to be very frustrating that I'd be mistaken for any one of several people until I started consciously not acting like the typical stereotype. I still play piano...

 

[Apotheker2015]

To be honest, even if there were a photo I doubt anyone would notice or distinguish between two different Vietnamese people. At work, people can't tell the difference between a Vietnamese and a Philippino who look nothing alike and have completely different skin tone.

It's harder for me to tell white people apart. Sue, Jane, Joe, Mary. LOL Give me a "tell your asians apart" contest any day of the week.

 

[njac]

It's harder for me to tell white people apart. Sue, Jane, Joe, Mary. LOL Give me a "tell your asians apart" contest any day of the week.

Living in California helped me leaps and bounds with telling my Asians apart.

But do the white girl a favor - please see if you can have your “Americanized” name on the schedule and/or name badge. Life is hard when I meet 4 Phuong’s or Thanh’s in a week and I can’t remember which one was Susan and the schedule is zero help to try to deduce it. I’m trying here!


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[Apotheker2015]

Living in California helped me leaps and bounds with telling my Asians apart.

But do the white girl a favor - please see if you can have your “Americanized” name on the schedule and/or name badge. Life is hard when I meet 4 Phuong’s or Thanh’s in a week and I can’t remember which one was Susan and the schedule is zero help to try to deduce it. I’m trying here!


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LOL fair and square!

 

[Doctorishere12345]

To be honest, even if there were a photo I doubt anyone would notice or distinguish between two different Vietnamese people. At work, people can't tell the difference between a Vietnamese and a Philippino who look nothing alike and have completely different skin tone.

There are lots of pharmacists are Vietnamese in California. Don't you think there Vietnamese people work in the board. They're just lazy and take an easy step and not double check. They have many things to focus on rather than assuming this person is not real even though her name is matched.

Why do you think new grads waiting 4-6 weeks or longer to get Naplex/CJPE result

 

[WVUPharm2007]

Living in California helped me leaps and bounds with telling my Asians apart.

But do the white girl a favor - please see if you can have your “Americanized” name on the schedule and/or name badge. Life is hard when I meet 4 Phuong’s or Thanh’s in a week and I can’t remember which one was Susan and the schedule is zero help to try to deduce it. I’m trying here!


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Your Asians pick regular names? Out here in Philly, they choose arbitrary words. Mossy. Emerald. Pluto. Winter. These are literally the names I've come across.

 

[CetiAlphaFive]

I once had an African American graveyard shift pharmacist ask me what part of India my family was from.

I'm 6'3", and about the same skin tone as Diego Luna.

Lmao

 

[Momus]

I have a pharmacist with her real name as "Negar". She is middle eastern. She makes everyone call her as Nicole.

Try to say her real name in English.

 

[Deja]

to be fair... I've met some pharmacists and grad interns where I was just thinking how the hell did they graduate or do they even really check the prescription before verifying?!

But I would have never thought any of them would be fake

 

[Modest_anteater]

to be fair... I've met some pharmacists and grad interns where I was just thinking how the hell did they graduate or do they even really check the prescription before verifying?!

But I would have never thought any of them would be fake

I worked with one pharmacist that would just shake the bottle to see if it had the correct amount of pills in it instead of counting them.