‘Illegal licensing deals’ plague pharmacy sector

AMMAN — The Jordan Pharmacists Association (JPhA) has warned of “repercussions” for pharmacists who sell their licences to others who run the pharmacies in their stead. 

JPhA President Zeid Kilani told The Jordan Times on Sunday that the association held a panel discussion last week after cases emerged in which pharmacists who rented or gave away their licences faced “severe repercussions”.

“After hearing about several cases, we took measures immediately to nip the problem in the bud and stop it from becoming a phenomenon, especially since the association’s law in almost all its versions forbids this,” Kilani said.

The association president attributed the rise in this practice to “the current economic condition and the high unemployment rate in the pharmaceutical sector”. 

In a typical license renting scenario, someone will approach a pharmacist who has obtained his licence with promises to run his pharmacy and give him the profits, and some take this opportunity because they are unemployed or because they have another job but want to make more money, according to Kilani.

“Of course, this leads to issues of identity theft, other violations and even imprisonment, since because the owner of the license holds all legal accountability, those who made the promises are not held responsible,” Kilani said.

The JPhA chief noted that the association is investigating all applications to ensure the actual owners are the ones who want to open the pharmacy.

“The cases are mostly comprised of women, most of whom fell for the deal because of the convenience of making money from home,” he said.

“For example, in one case, a well-known female pharmacist had an issue at home and let someone else run her pharmacy. After two years, she returned to find a pile of problems and violations,” according to Kilani. 

He added, however, that she eventually saved herself and the pharmacy, which she ran for 20 years

The association president said JPhA committees have begun implementing a background check to stop cases like this from happening again. 

He also added that anyone who is going to open a pharmacy must sign documents to prove they are the actual owner and read articles of the law to help them understand the consequences of misusing their license.

“In one case, a person living in one governorate wanted to open a pharmacy in another, so the association was suspicious and warned him of possible repercussions. However, this person said he had been unemployed for half a year and was willing to give away his licence for the money,” Kilani said.

He added that the association eventually helped the man find employment at a firm, giving him the freedom to abandon the idea.

The JPhA chief said the association will continue to raise awareness about the topic and work hard to prevent any pharmacists from falling into problems and legal issues.