Pharmacy's Hottest Topics: 2016 & 2017 Dec. 7, 2016

DrugSafeBC and Pharmacy Security

2014 and 2015 saw a rapid increase in the number of BC pharmacies robbed by armed criminals looking for highly addictive and dangerous narcotics to sell on BC’s streets. Responding to this, the College implemented its DrugSafeBC program which requires all pharmacies in BC to store their narcotic drugs in time-delay safes. Since implementation, there have been only 5 robberies in BC, compared to 41 in the first 9 months of 2015. 

Certified Pharmacist Prescriber

Significant strides were made in our efforts to expand the scope of pharmacists to include prescribing rights in order to increase access to drug therapy. After conducting a Stakeholder Engagement that received more than 11,400 comments from over 1,500 respondents, the College Board approved narrowing the scope of the proposal to prescribing within a collaborative, interdisciplinary practice setting. 

Prohibition on the Provision of Incentives

For quite some time, the College has held the position that incentives can inappropriately encourage drug use and put patient health at risk. Which is why the College is pleased that The BC Court of Appeal ruled to reinstate our prohibition on pharmacy incentives this past January. 

Mandatory Accredited Learning Hours 

College registrants must now include a minimum of 5 accredited learning hours every year to renew their license. These mandatory hours will represent a portion of the 15 professional development hours already required in BC and are due upon each registrant’s renewal date. 

Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID)

In February, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that competent adults who have enduring, intolerable suffering and whom consent to ending their lives can access MAID on a case-by-case basis. This led to the introduction of Bill C-14, which decriminalizes medical assistance in dying, prompting the college to update its Code of Ethics; the HPA bylaws for standards of practice in community, hospital and residential care pharmacies; as well as the standards, limits and conditions on MAID to reflect the legislation. The College also introduced guidelines for pharmacists who choose to provide services within the context of MAID. 

Naloxone & the Opioid Overdose Crisis 

BC’s opioid crisis is more severe now than it’s ever been. With the surge in illicit Fentanyl partly responsible, the province experienced 755 unintentional overdose deaths in 2016. In response to this, the College amended BC’s Drug Schedules Regulation in September to deschedule naloxone, making it available for purchase anywhere by anyone. 

New Model Standards for Pharmacy Compounding

The National Association of Pharmacy Regulatory Authorities has been working to develop a series of new model standards for pharmacy compounding. So far, two documents have been released on hazardous and non-hazardous sterile preparations with the third expected in early 2017. In order to inform the College’s approach to implementing the new standards, we sought input from pharmacy professionals and developed a Gap Identification Tool to assess the gaps between NAPRA’s new model standards and the current pharmacy practice. 

College Name Change (engagement, decision to come)

In order to reflect the College’s role in regulating both Pharmacists and Pharmacy Technicians in BC, we began exploring an official name change. Our first step was to conduct an engagement survey which received over 1,500 responses, the majority of which voted yes to a name change. 

The College turns 125!

The College celebrated 125 years of protecting the public through pharmacy regulation! 

New workload standards (sections 3(2)(i) and 3(2)(ii) of the PODSA Bylaws.

In August, Board-approved amendments to the PODSA bylaws regarding pharmacy workload standards came into effect. The bylaws ensure that registrant and pharmacy staff levels are sufficient to ensure workload volume so as not to compromise patient safety of compliance the College bylaws, Code of Ethics or Standards of Practice. 

Certified Pharmacist Prescribers 

Having received approval from the College Board to narrow the scope of this initiative to prescribing within collaborative practice settings, the College will now begin working on a proposal to the BC Ministry of Health for prescribing in BC. 

Practice Review Program phase 2: hospital practice 

In November 2016, the College Board approved the implementation of the second phase of the Practice Review Program: Hospital Practice. Following the success of Phase 1: Community Practice, the College will begin in-person reviews of hospital pharmacies in April 2017. 

new model standards for pharmacy compounding 

In 2014, The National Association of Pharmacy Regulatory Authorities (NAPRA) began work on a series of new Model Standards for Pharmacy Compounding with a goal of releasing three documents. The first two pertaining to non-hazardous and hazardous sterile preparations have been released with the third on non-sterile products expected in early 2017. These new model standards will replace NAPRA’s existing Guidelines to Pharmacy Compounding. 

medical marijuana 

Medical Marijuana is not a pharmaceutical and cannot be dispensed by pharmacies. However, with growing interest from pharmacies and members of the public to have MMJ available through pharmacies, The Federal Government is expected to implement regulation changes for recreational and medical marijuana as early as spring 2017. We’ll be watching to see what happens. 

increased pharmacy security 

With only 5 pharmacy robberies in 2016–down from 44 in 2015–we are excited to continue our efforts toward increased pharmacy security in 2017.  In addition to the launch of DrugSafeBC, the College decided to further strengthen pharmacy security by adding new requirements to the College bylaws. The College received feedback through engagement sessions and an initial public posting in April of 2016 and revised the Proposed Pharmacy Security Bylaws for a second public posting from September 16 through December 18, 2016. We will now be reviewing any final feedback as we prepare to implement the new bylaws. 

strategic plan: 2017-2020 

2017 marks the beginning of our new 3-year strategic plan. After collecting feedback from over 1,300 registrants, healthcare stakeholders and members of the public, the College identified four strategic themes that will guide us toward achieving our mission over the next 3 years: 

1. Legislative Standards and Modernization 
2. Drug Therapy Access and Monitoring 
3. Professional Excellence 
4. Organizaional Excellence