Pharmacy Daily | Self-medicating ex-pharmacist banned

A former pharmacist turned doctor will be unable to register to practice either profession for at least 18 months, from 01 Mar, following a Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal ruling.

The tribunal heard that on 21 Nov 2016, Dr Gyu Sung Lee pleaded guilty at Shepparton Magistrates' Court to charges of obtaining prescription medicines using forged scripts and being in possession of a drug of dependence.

Dr Lee also admitted to working as a medical practitioner "whilst under the influence of medications" that had not been prescribed for him, but claimed they had not impacted his practice.

He was released without conviction, on an undertaking to be of good behaviour for two years until 21 Nov 2018.

Following this case, both the Medical Board of Australia and the Pharmacy Board of Australia lodged applications to bar Dr Lee from practising for an extended period.

The Tribunal heard Lee misused pain and sleep medications, as a way of dealing with stressors, having initially turned to illicit substances to cope with anxiety induced by his parents' violent relationships as a child.

Having registered as a pharmacist in Aug 2010, he gained access to "discarded sleeping medications, which he took to assist with his insomnia and anxiety".

While a medical student in 2012 he took a prescription pad during a hospital placement, which he used to obtain a range of medications.

In a statement to the Tribunal, Lee outlined a period in 2014 when he stopped using drugs, but acknowledged he kept various items in case things got bad again.

By Jan 2016 he was self-medicating again, having commenced a medical internship at Goulburn Valley Health.

The Tribunal heard that during this period Dr Lee was "taking up to seven tablets of Zolpidem at night and might supplement them with up to three tablets of Temazepam".

Dr Lee is now working as a harm reduction practitioner, and has indicated a desire to reregister as a pharmacist on an academic basis.