Doctors, pharmacists want to investigate Baby Annie's death

Alberta’s child and youth advocate is asking lawyers if information about a drug-addicted woman whose 14-day-old baby died in 2012 can be shared with the colleges representing pharmacists and doctors.

Baby Annie, as she is called in the advocate’s report, died with traces of drugs in her system.

• 14-day-old baby who died failed by system, advocate finds

Her mother had been prescribed 5,000 pills by 11 doctors during her pregnancy. Most of the prescriptions were filled at the same pharmacy.

While the report raises issues that warrant further investigation, Alberta law prevents the Child Advocate from sharing information with the College of Pharmacists and the College of Physicians and Surgeons.

Child and Youth Advocate spokesman Tim Chander says his office is trying to find a way.

“We're checking with our legal counsel whether we can provide some information to the respective colleges so they can have some information to base an investigation of their own into the amount of medication that was provided and dispensed,” he said.

Both colleges want to look into what happened.

“We have a sincere interest in learning more so that we can follow up and find out what went wrong at the pharmacy,” said Registrar Greg Eberhart of the College of Pharmacists.

Spokeswoman Kelly Eby says the College of Physicians and Surgeons wants to know which doctors were involved.

“The more that we can learn about it, the more that we can educate our members and help them to be better physicians,” she said.

The Office of the Child and Youth Advocate hopes to get a legal opinion by Wednesday or Thursday.

The real names of the child and her mother were not used in the report. The family had come to the attention of Child Intervention Services so they could not be identified under Alberta law.

Child Advocate Del Graff also did not say where Annie’s family resided.