Kristen Zanoni  |  July 17, 2020

Category: Drugs

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Woman speaking with pharmacist regarding the pharmacy privacy breach class action lawsuit filed

A class action lawsuit filed against Angita Pharma Inc. and The Jean Coutu Group Inc. accuses the companies of breaching customers’ privacy rights after customers’ confidential pharmacy records were used for profit.

The class action lawsuit alleges that Angita Pharma breached customers’ privacy when the company was given access to private pharmacy records for a profit. Jean Coutu Pharmacy is accused of being reckless and grossly negligent for declining to have proper protective measures in place to prevent this type of occurrence from happening. According to the claim, this conduct was an intentional violation of privacy rights, and access to client health records for profit is unauthorized and illegal.

Now, the professional order, the Ordre des pharmaciens du Québec is accusing over 200 pharmacists (73 of which are connected with Jean Coutu) of granting Respondent Angita Pharma access to their clients’ private and confidential files. The investigation completed by the Ordre des pharmaciens du Québec allegedly found that representatives approached the pharmacists and agreed to compensate them with financial benefits if they aided them in favouring generic drugs distributed by the company over others. 

Additionally, the pharmacy privacy breach class action lawsuit claims the pharmacists granted Angita Pharma representative access to their patients’ private health records in order to make estimated calculations of how financially lucrative the scheme would be. This way, they could estimate how much money they could expect from agreeing to prioritize certain drugs over others. Angita Pharma sells generic drugs that are meant to be exclusively given to patients with private insurance. Angita Pharma does not sell generic drugs listed by the Régie de l’assurance maladie du Québec, so it does not have to obey the 15% professional allowance cap for kickbacks and instead offered much greater compensation to pharmacists.

According to the pharmacy privacy breach class action lawsuit, pharmacists who agreed to this arrangement with Angita Pharma received considerably large financial kickbacks, ranging from 30% to 70% on the drugs. 

The names of the other pharmacies have not yet been named at this time. The pharmacists that have been identified in the claim work in Montreal, Quebec City, Sherbrooke, Terrebonne, Drummondville, Thetford Mines, Brossard, and in other places in Quebec.

According to the lawsuit, Class Members believed that their most private medical data was safe in the hands of their pharmacy. It is reasonable to believe that patients trust that a pharmacy would keep their personal, sensitive records confidential. Instead of keeping private health data safe and secure, the Respondents allowed professional confidentiality to be violated and received significant compensation for allowing Class Members’ pharmacy records to be accessed. The pharmacy records were mined to examine patients’ medical conditions and medications to make financial projections about how much money could be made off of them. 

Due to Jean Coutu’s false representations of keeping private data safe, Class Members had their trust violated. If they had known the truth about their privacy being compromised, they could have gone elsewhere. Woman listening to pharmacist regarding the pharmacy privacy breach class action lawsuit filed

Violating the privacy of patients is harmful and illegal. According to the pharmacy privacy breach class action lawsuit, Jean Coutu should have taken proper precautions to safeguard patients’ records.

It was the duty of these professionals to preserve secrecy, practise human respect, implement safety measures, and refrain from taking advantage of consumers, which the pharmacy privacy breach class action lawsuit alleges all of these principles have been violated.

All members of the Class have a pharmacy record that was accessed by Angita Pharma. The Jean Coutu privacy breach class action lawsuit claims that Class Members’ private information has been compromised, entitling them to damages for trouble and inconvenience, stress and anxiety, and punitive damages. The damages are a direct result of the actions taken by Angita Pharma and Jean Coutu Pharmacy. 

The exact number of impacted patients is unknown but according to the claim, the number is potentially very high, perhaps up to tens of thousands of people, dispersed all across the province, have been violated by the breach. 

Want to join the class action? If you or someone you know has been impacted by the pharmacy records breach, or you want to receive more information, you may fill out this form with Consumer Law Group.

This is not the only breach of clients’ personal health data that has occurred recently. Canadian consumers have had their privacy violated in numerous breaches and cyberattacks in leading corporations, including MGM Resorts and Fitness Depot. Similarly to this new class action lawsuit, LifeLabs, the largest laboratory testing company in Canada, was the target of a cyberattack that violated millions of persons’ personal health information.

Do you use Jean Coutu Pharmacy to receive your medications? Are you concerned about your private pharmacy records being used for profit? Tell us your thoughts in the comment section below! 

The petitioner is represented by Jeff Orenstein of Consumer Law Group Inc.

The Jean Coutu Privacy Breach Class Action Lawsuit is Hébert v. Angita Pharma Inc., et al., Case No: 500-06-001085-204, in the Superior Court of Québec, District of Montreal, Canada.

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6 thoughts onJean Coutu Class Action Lawsuit Alleges Pharmacy Privacy Breach

  1. Catherine Hamom says:

    We would like to be added.
    3 family members used County regularly for years
    The youngest was overdosed.

  2. Elizabeth Di Blasio says:

    I am a Client of Jean Coutu pharmacist- located on Beaumont Avenue in Town of Mount Royal. I feel that my privacy has been violated. Once a week their driver delivers my prescription All my personal and private information is on that piece of paper which is” openly attached to the medication. ” . I just spoke to a young lady at that pharmacy who informed me that she is a pharmacist in waiting. Her name is madame Lanier. .My full name and address … My medicare number with my Birthdate… the name of my medication…. the name of my doctor…. too much !!! The driver has access to my most private and personal information. This is indeed a Breach of Trust! I have nosey neighbours in my Building!

  3. Suzanne Goudreau says:

    Jean Coutu has my persoanl data base. They do not respect the error of price as well.
    Add me

    1. Cory Shallow says:

      As if the constant pill theft by technicians and pharmacists weren’t bad enough;
      and As if them stealing from the taxpayer by fraudulently billing the RAMQ weren’t bad enough;
      NOW Jean Coutu pharmacists are raiding your private insurance and violating your medical privacy by selling it to the highest bidder for bribes, too!

      If you did anything like this as any other type of medical professional, you would lose your license to practice indefinitely: PERIOD!
      Pharmacists? One year suspension and a fractional fine of the dozens of thousands of dollars you’ve stolen: if that. It’s the price of doing business!

  4. Mary ann chantal tucker says:

    My goodness,to think i have left other pharmacies for passing on my personal information and now i have to be worried about this one as well?! I am palliative and cant take this misstrust that i already have as i am trying to fight for my rights amongst doctors as well passing on my i formation i yold them No for..Does anybody know who i cant trust with my medical information? Omg this is giving me the craziest panic attacknright now! I have to much on the line to know i cant even pit my trust in them

  5. Lenore Jensen says:

    How do I collect on this class action suit? Jean Coutou has my personal info in their database.

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