A surprising number of pharmacies and pharmacists are
fraudulently overbilling the Ontario Drug Benefit (ODB) Program for
millions of dollars and they are largely getting away with it.
This was the conclusion from an investigation jointly
conducted by the Toronto Star and Global News. The report was
published on February 25, 2019.
According to the report, the fraud is being carried out by
pharmacists who are using patients who receive ODB assistance -
such as children, the elderly and those on social assistance
– as a cover for fraudulent charges. The dishonest
pharmacists bill ODB for items that are never dispensed to the
patients, with the proceeds going to the pharmacy. The
investigation revealed that, despite the millions of dollars that
are lost to these schemes, very few pharmacists are caught, and
even fewer are charged and convicted.
