‘Predatory’ pharmacist nets $65k in gifts from lonely patients

An “exploitative” Melbourne pharmacist has been banned after she accepted more than $65,000 in gifts from lonely patients she befriended, including a car and an overseas holiday.

An “exploitative” Melbourne pharmacist accepted more than $65,000 in gifts – including a car and free accommodation – from two elderly and vulnerable patients she befriended for personal gain, a tribunal has heard.

Carolyn Lam has been banned from pharmacy for at least three years after a series of inappropriate patient relationships, including a “lonely” man with prostate cancer who gave her a $52,000 car and a woman in her 70s whose home she lived in for nine months.

She also had a sexual relationship with a male patient who had “complex medical/mental health condition”, and has been banned from patient-facing roles since 2021.

The Pharmacy Board of Australia argued Ms Lam’s friendship with the wealthy cancer patient – who had little family contact – was “predatory”, while her accommodation arrangement with the woman – described by Lam as a “hermit” – was “exploitative”.

The Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal heard she met all three through her work at an inner Melbourne pharmacy and dispensed their medications throughout the relationships.

VCAT members Jonathan Smithers, Paul Gysslink and Raymond Gymer’s ruling, released this month, said the “serious” professional boundaries breach saw her receive “significant personal benefits” from “personal relationships with two patients who were vulnerable due to their age, health conditions and isolation”.

The Pharmacy Board of Australia argued Lam’s relationship with a wealthy cancer patient was ‘predatory’. Picture: iStock

The Board of Pharmacists did not allege the relationships influenced Ms Lam’s healthcare or that she “took over” their financial affairs.

But pharmacists should expect to encounter “needy, lonely or potentially vulnerable to … exploitation” patients, VCAT said, and must avoid entering relationships that “cross professional boundaries”.

Tribunal documents show she accepted gifts including a Volkswagen, $4085 for an overseas holiday, and more than $9000 in cheques from the cancer patient, aged in his 80s, until his January 2012 death after meeting for dinner or coffee numerous times the previous year.

The woman invited Ms Lam into her home during multiple medication deliveries – which she mostly accepted – in 2015, with the pharmacist moving in with her in August.

She lived there until the woman left, paying no rent in return for cooking, cleaning, shopping and transport to appointments.

Her eight-month relationship with a regular customer, on medication for ADHD and low testosterone, also began in 2015 and resulted in Ms Lam receiving victims of crime compensation after he subjected her to threats and violence.

The elderly patients died before the regulator – acting on anonymous tip-offs in late 2018 – began investigations, while the third patient defended Ms Lam. None can be named.

VCAT heard Ms Lam, who has most recently worked in Nhill, acknowledged she “exploited” patients’ trust, has since completed ethics courses and co-operated with investigators, but it “still took a long time” to obtain “the full story”.

Ms Lam’s registration was cancelled, meaning she will need to prove she is fit to return to pharmacy in November 2026.

VCAT said the “significant” sanction was necessary to “deter pharmacists who might feel tempted to abuse their position of trust by exploiting vulnerable patients, for example, those who are elderly, wealthy and isolated, with the hope of financial gain for themselves.”