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PRP INSIGHTS: Introducing New Practice Review Criteria to the Community Pharmacy Review
The Practice Review Program (PRP) aims to protect public safety by improving compliance with College bylaws and professional practice policies.
Recent changes to pharmacy regulations, bylaws and professional practice policies have given pharmacists an expanded scope of practice with regards to drug administration, prescription adaptation and pharmacist prescribing for minor ailments and contraception (PPMAC). To facilitate the safe delivery of pharmacy services across the expanded scope domains, PRP will be introducing new review criteria to the Community Pharmacy Review this Fall.
During Pharmacy Professionals Reviews, Compliance Officers have been checking to ensure that:
Pharmacists who are providing PPMAC have completed the College’s Prescribing for Minor Ailments and Contraception Regulatory Education Module and declared this training in their eServices account, and
Pharmacists providing drug administration services have a valid drug administration certification in place with the College.
Building on the review of appropriate training and certification that occurs during Pharmacy Professionals Reviews, the new Pharmacy Review criteria pertaining to PPMAC, drug administration and prescription adaptation will involve a more comprehensive review of how pharmacists are providing these services in their day-to-day practice. This will include, but is not limited to, a review of documentation, scope-of-practice and policies and procedures. The new review criteria will be launched in two phases, with PPMAC and drug administration being introduced first. The second phase will introduce the new review criteria for prescription adaptation, which is currently under development.
A full listing of the new PPMAC and drug administration review criteria to be added this Fall can be found below:
Pharmacist Prescribing for Minor Ailments and Contraception
| Reference | Requirement(s) |
|---|---|
| HPA Bylaws Schedule F Part 8 s.2 | A pharmacist must advise the patient to seek medical attention from an appropriate healthcare professional when making a diagnosis or prescribing are beyond the scope of practice or knowledge, skills and abilities of the pharmacist. |
| HPA Bylaws Schedule F Part 8 s.8 | In settings where the Community Pharmacy Standards of Practice in Part 1 of this Schedule apply, the pharmacist must inform the patient of the option to have the prescription dispensed at another pharmacy and must provide the prescription to the patient at the patient’s request. |
| HPA Bylaws Schedule F Part 8 s.11 | When making a diagnosis or prescribing a drug, the pharmacist must take the appropriate steps to ensure the assessment is conducted in a manner that the patient confirms as suitably private. |
| HPA Bylaws Schedule F Part 8 s.14 | A pharmacist who prescribes a drug for a patient must document: a) patient information, including personal health number (PHN), if available; b) acknowledgement of informed consent; c) patient assessment; d) prescribing decision and rationale, including diagnosis; e) prescription information, including all information that is required for a prescription ; f) instructions provided to the patient, including the monitoring and follow-up plan; g) name of the patient’s primary health care provider or other health care provider that was notified and the date of notification, if applicable; and h) patient response to treatment, if applicable. |
| HPA Bylaws Schedule F Part 8 s.15 | A pharmacist who prescribes a drug must notify and communicate the prescribing information to the patient’s primary healthcare provider or other healthcare provider, if available, when the pharmacist determines it to be in the patient’s best interest or when notification is directed by the patient. |
| HPA Bylaws Schedule F Part 8 s. 17 | A pharmacist must not prescribe for themselves or a family member, except in an emergency situation and when another prescriber is not readily available. If prescribing in this situation, the pharmacist must document the emergency situation, including their relationship to the patient. |
| Pharmacists Regulation s.4(1)(a.1) | A registrant in the course of practising the health profession of the practice of pharmacy may make a diagnosis identifying, as the cause of the signs or symptoms of an individual, a disease, disorder or condition that is shown in Column 1 of Schedule A, if all of the following conditions are met: (i) the disease, disorder or condition, in the form indicated by the individual's signs and symptoms, (A) presents a low risk of masking an underlying disease, disorder or condition, and (B) can be readily diagnosed without the need for laboratory or imaging tests; (ii) the individual's signs or symptoms can be reasonably expected to resolve with only short-term or episodic treatment. |
| Pharmacists Regulation s.4(1)(a.2) | A registrant in the course of practising the health profession of the practice of pharmacy may, for the purpose of treating a disease, disorder or condition diagnosed under paragraph (a.1), prescribe a drug that is (i) specified in Schedule I of the Drug Schedules Regulation, and (ii) within a drug category shown opposite the disease, disorder or condition in Column 2 of Schedule A of this regulation. |
Drug Administration
| Reference | REquirement(s) |
|---|---|
| HPA Bylaws Schedule F Part 4 s.8 | A pharmacist must document for each drug given: (a) Informed consent (b) Assessment of the appropriateness of the drug for the patient (c) Drug and dose administered (d) Lot number and expiry date of the drug (e) Route of administration (f) Site of administration (g) Date and time of administration (h) The identification of the pharmacist who administered the drug (i) Patient response (j) Any adverse reaction experienced due to the drug administered and management provided (k) Patient or patient’s representative contact information (l) Providing patient or patient’s representative with the administering pharmacist’s contact information (m) Patient teaching done, including adverse reactions and management and plans for follow-up |
| HPA Bylaws Schedule F Part 4 s.11 | Develop, maintain and review, at least annually, a policy and procedure manual including: (a) Emergency procedure and treatment protocol (b) Precautions required for patients with latex allergies |
| HPA Bylaws Schedule F Part 4 s.12 | Maintain a setting within which the drug is to be administered that is clean, safe, comfortable and appropriately private and furnished for the patient. |
| HPA Bylaws Schedule F Part 4 Limits s.1 | A practicing pharmacist may only administer a drug or substance if it has been prescribed by a practitioner, unless it is for the purpose of immunization, to treat anaphylaxis arising from administering a drug or substance, or to administer naloxone to a person suspected of suffering from an overdose of opioids. |
| HPA Bylaws Schedule F Part 4 Limits s.2 | A practicing pharmacist must not administer allergy serums, nor administer drugs and substances for cosmetic purposes by injection. |
| HPA Bylaws Schedule F Part 4 Limits s.3 | A practicing pharmacist must not administer an injection to a child under 4 years old. |
| HPA Bylaws Schedule F Part 4 Limits s.4 | A practicing pharmacist must not administer a drug by intranasal route to a child under 2 years old. |
To learn more about the Practice Review Program, including how to prepare for your review, visit: