How to begin preparing for your pharmacy licence renewal under the new PODSA requirements Feb. 23, 2018 New Pharmacy Ownership Requirements

How to begin preparing for your pharmacy licence renewal under the new PODSA requirements

One of the key changes in the amendments to the Pharmacy Operations and Drug Scheduling Act involves shifting responsibilities from the pharmacy manager to the direct owner for renewing a pharmacy licence. 

Each pharmacy will need to determine an authorized representative for the direct owner to lead the completion of pharmacy licence renewals. 

Learn more about how to select appropriate authorized representatives for your pharmacy in this ReadLinks article.

Here’s how to get started with selecting an authorized representative and preparing for a pharmacy licence renewal under the new pharmacy ownership requirements. 

If your direct owner is a pharmacist-sole proprietorship, or a partnership of pharmacists:

1) Designate an authorized representative to submit required documents

• The pharmacist-sole proprietor, or one pharmacist partner as part of a partnership will need to submit required documents to the College through their eServices account   

2) Collect required documentation: 

• Statement of Registration Sole Proprietorship, or Statement of Registration General Partnership as submitted to BC Registry Services

3) If you have a pharmacy manager:

• Inform them that pharmacy managers must also meet the Proof of Eligibility requirements 
• Inform them that they will be required to complete an attestation annually, and a criminal record history once every 5 years as part of the pharmacy licence renewal. 

If your direct owner is a non-publicly traded corporation:

1) Designate authorized representative(s) to be responsible for the following if your corporation has more than one director: 

• Submitting the pharmacy licence renewal application
• Monitoring the status of the pharmacy licence renewal application
• Following up with any missing requirements or with individuals who have not submitted their Proof of Eligibility. 

Authorized representatives will have access through an eServices account and will be able to monitor both when requirements have been submitted and whether each applicable individual has submitted their proof of eligibility requirements. 

It is recommended that owners identify discrepancies between their BC Company Summary and the College’s records regarding the name and number of Directors associated with your pharmacy. If a discrepancy is found, a Change of Director application should be submitted on or before March 31, 2018. Applications submitted after this date will require the new indirect owner to submit their Proof of Eligibility before the change application will be approved and complete. 

2) Collect all required documentation from the direct owner. This includes: 

• BC Company Summary 
• Certified copy of the Central Securities Register (if the direct owner is not a publicly traded company) 

Contact the Directors and Officers of your corporation listed in your BC Company Summary, and all individual shareholders listed in your Central Securities Register (if the direct owner is not a publicly traded company) in order to do the following: 

• Inform them about the new ownership requirements coming into effect soon. 
• Inform them that they will be required to complete an attestation annually, and a criminal record history once every 5 years in order to complete their pharmacy licence renewal. 
• Confirm that the name they have listed in the BC Company Summary or Central Securities Register is their legal name. If not, make amendments as soon as possible. 
• Collect their email addresses, and inform them that they should expect to receive an email from the College regarding the completion of their Proof of Eligibility. 

*all shareholders who are non-publicly traded corporations, incorporated in BC (i.e. the parent company), will be required to provide the same documentation and Director/Officer/Shareholder information as the Direct Owner. (This information is to be submitted by the direct owner on behalf of the shareholder.) 

If your pharmacy has indirect owners that are publicly traded corporations, these corporations are not required to provide any corporate information or email contacts. 

3) Contact your pharmacy manager(s) 

• Inform them that the new requirement for Proof Eligibility also applies to pharmacy managers 
• Decide who will be responsible for obtaining and uploading the business licence on eServices (if not the pharmacy manager or authorized representative). 
  • You must ensure that the copy of the business licence you obtain is still valid for pharmacy licence renewal. 

If your Direct Owner is a publicly traded corporation:

1) Designate authorized representative(s) to be responsible for the following if your corporation has more than one director: 

• Submitting the pharmacy licence renewal application
• Monitoring the status of the pharmacy licence renewal application
• Following up with any missing requirements or with individuals who have not submitted their Proof of Eligibility. 

Authorized representatives will have access through an eServices account and will be able to monitor both when requirements have been submitted and whether each applicable individual has submitted their proof of eligibility requirements. 

2) Collect all required documentation from the direct owner. This includes: 

• BC Company Summary 

Contacting the Directors and Officers of your corporation listed in your BC Company Summary in order to do the following: 

• Inform them about the new ownership requirements coming into effect soon. 
• Inform them that they will be required to complete an attestation annually, and a criminal record history once every 5 years in order to complete their pharmacy licence renewal. 
• Confirm that the name they have listed in the BC Company Summary is their legal name. If not, make amendments as soon as possible. 
• Collect their email addresses, and inform them that they should expect to receive an email from the College regarding the completion of their Proof of Eligibility. 

*Shareholders information is not required. 

3) Contact your pharmacy manager(s) 

• Inform them that the new requirement for Proof Eligibility also applies to pharmacy managers 
• Decide who will be responsible for obtaining and uploading the business licence on eServices (if not the pharmacy manager or authorized representative). 
  • You must ensure that the copy of the business licence you obtain is still valid for pharmacy licence renewal. 

Looking for more information?

• ReadLinks article on ownership structure and requirements for licensure
• ReadLinks article on Proof of Eligibility
• New Pharmacy Ownership Requirements resource page (stay tuned for updates coming soon) 
• Pharmacy Operations and Drug Scheduling Act bylaws amendments
   

NEW PHARMACY OWNERSHIP REQUIREMENTS READLINKS SERIES 

Watch for additional New Pharmacy Ownership Requirements articles in the months ahead on ReadLinks. These articles feature important new requirements for pharmacy licensure and renewals to help pharmacies prepare to meet the new requirements.