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Loredana Araya, 11461900
Facts
The Member admitted that she engaged in professional misconduct while employed as a Care Coordinator, coordinating healthcare services in the home for patients. The Member entered the homes of three patients on one or more occasions without an appointment and/or without a clinical purpose and misappropriated pain patches and medication, including OxyContin, Tylenol 3, and morphine. The Member failed to properly document these visits. In addition, the Member inappropriately accessed the personal health records of approximately 318 patients, including two of her own family members.
Discipline Committee’s Findings
Based on the Member’s admissions, a panel of the Discipline Committee of the College of Nurses of Ontario (the “Panel”) found that the Member:
- contravened a standard of practice of the profession or failed to meet the standards of practice of the profession; and
- engaged in conduct, relevant to the practice of nursing, that, having regard to all the circumstances, would reasonably be regarded by members as disgraceful, dishonourable and/or unprofessional.
Discipline Committee’s Order
The College of Nurses of Ontario (“CNO”) and the Member presented the Panel with a Joint Submission on Order requesting that the Panel make an order that included the following:
- an oral reprimand;
- a 7-month suspension; and
- terms, conditions, and limitations including:
- attending 2 meetings with a Regulatory Expert;
- employer notification for 24 months;
- random spot audits of the Member’s accesses to electronic health records for 12 months; and
- no independent practice for 24 months.
The Panel accepted the Joint Submission on Order, concluding that the proposed penalty was reasonable and in the public interest.
The Panel stated that the amount of personal health information accessed and the multiple misappropriations of patients’ medication by the Member warranted a lengthy suspension. However, the Panel also considered that the Member cooperated with the CNO and accepted responsibility by agreeing to the facts and a joint submission on order.
