‘I could write you a prescription for anything you want’: Boxes of blank prescriptions at Cocoon HQ

Boxes of blank doctors’ prescription pads were left in this unlocked cupboard in the headquarters of NDIS firm Cocoon SDA Care | SEE THE PICTURES

Cocoon ‘corporate strategist’ Zaffar Khan (left) and boxes of blank doctors’ prescription pads were kept in this unlocked cupboard in an open plan office at Cocoon’s headquarters.

Boxes of blank doctors’ prescription pads were left in an unlocked cupboard in the headquarters of NDIS firm Cocoon SDA Care, where they could have been accessed and used by anyone.

The pads are connected to a home doctor service and their unsecured presence in an open-plan office near the entrance to a communal kitchen has been described by a Cocoon whistleblower as more startling evidence of the company’s careless practices.

A box marked `Dial A Doctor’ in the cupboard at Cocoon’s Brisbane HQ.

The discovery of the blank pads, ripe for misuse, came as a shock to a doctor whose name appears at the top of one of them.

When contacted by The Australian on Tuesday, Victorian doctor Beshoy Benyamin said he had not worked for the home doctor service for seven years.

“That needs to be shredded. It shouldn’t be there. If it’s under my name and someone got access to it, they can write a script under my name,” Dr Benyamin said.

The separate whistleblower who alerted The Australian to the pads said there were “boxes and boxes” of them.

Prescription pads stored near the communal kitchen.

“They’re all blank prescription books,” the person said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

“I could walk in there and write you a prescription for anything you want, really. Anybody that walks into that office can access that. It’s just sitting, unlocked, in an open cupboard that anyone can have access to.”

The business’s former national clinical care co-ordinator quit after seeing inside the cupboard, the person added.

“She packed up her desk and said, ‘I can’t work here, that puts my AHPRA (Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency) registration at risk’.”

An Australian Medical Association Queensland spokeswoman said on Tuesday she was unable to immediately comment on how prescription pads should be retained and stored.

Blank prescription pads were personalised under the names of individual doctors, obscured here by The Australian.

The Cocoon group of companies is headquartered in Eight Mile Plains in Brisbane’s south and run by former bankrupt taxi driver Zaffar Khan.

Mr Khan and longtime business associate Muhammad Latif also founded the Dial a Home Doctor service in Queensland in 2013.

Pictures of the cupboard, boxes and pads have been obtained by The Australian, with one box marked “Dial a Doctor”.

Pads are marked as being Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme “prescription forms for medical practitioners”.

Dr Benyamin said he had previously worked for a home doctor service he believed was purchased by Mr Latif.

The street address listed for him on the personalised pads was the address for the home doctor company at the time, he said.

“I have not been working there for seven years now,” Dr Benyamin said.

Mr Khan insisted in a statement that all prescription pads had been stored appropriately and securely, and in accordance with internal protocols.

“The documents were kept in a locked storage area accessible only to authorised personnel,” Mr Khan said.

‘There is no evidence of unauthorised access of misuse,’ Mr Khan said of these prescription forms.

“We are confident that the storage method complies with professional standards and poses no risk to patient safety or document integrity. We are aware of the professional guidelines relating to the handling and storage of prescription pads. Based on our internal review, there has been no breach of these requirements.”

The company was open to engaging with authorities if required, he said.

“The storage area where these pads were kept was locked and monitored. Only designated staff members with appropriate clearance had access. There is no evidence of unauthorised access or misuse. Cocoon SDA Care maintains a strong commitment to compliance, document security and patient safety. If any concerns are raised by regulatory bodies, we will respond transparently and fully co-operate.”

Bachelor reality TV contestant Marg Irving, formerly Zogoulas, left, pictured here meeting Brisbane Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner, shared fingerprint access to Mr Khan’s office, a company insider says.

However, a staff member told The Australian the pads were in “a cupboard everyone has access to and everyone walked past to get to the kitchen”.

The person added: “The only office we didn’t get access to was Zaffar’s because it had a fingerprint lock on it, and the only ones who could get in there were ‘the Bachelorette’ and Zaffar. They’re the only two fingerprints it would take. That’s the only secure room that’s in there.”

Mr Khan’s executive assistant, Marg Irving, formerly Marg Zogoulas, was a contestant on The Bachelor reality TV show in 2020.

Contact David Murray at [e-mail]