A 139-year-old man arrived at a Calgary pharmacy recently to fill a prescription.

At least, his health-care number said he was 139. The patient at the counter was in his 70s.

“It turned out to be a careless clerical error,” recalls the pharmacist. “One digit on the prescription was different from the man’s actual health-care number.”

The patient received his prescription, but the episode showed two things — there was no fraud attempt, and an Albertan long dead still had an active health-care number.

Service Alberta Minister Dale Nally said Wednesday that fraud is a key reason for bringing in new driver’s licences with health-care numbers, starting July 2.

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He added in a statement Thursday: “As of the end of last year, there were 500,000 more paper health cards in circulation than there were people living in Alberta.

“This can happen for a variety of reasons, including people passing away or moving out of province.

“Our health-care system is worth protecting, which is why we are taking steps to safeguard it from potential fraud and misuse by helping ensure health coverage is only being accessed by those who are eligible.”

If there really are........

© Calgary Herald