Frequently Asked Questions from Pharmacy Practice – Winter 2020

A: No. Revisions to the College’s Required Reference Guide for Ontario Pharmacies, approved at the September 2018 Council meeting, made a subscription to a Drug Information Service optional instead of mandatory. This change occurred along with the approval of the Standards of Operations for Pharmacies in Ontario.

At a minimum, every pharmacy should have at least one reference in each of the following areas:

• A Canadian Drug Reference / Compendium
• A Drug Interaction Publication
• A Drug Therapy Publication
• A Patient Counselling Guide

By removing the Council-approved list of specific references, pharmacy professionals gained the flexibility to select the resources in each area they deem most appropriate to support them in the delivery of patient care. Registrants are also encouraged to assess their practice and select additional references based on the pharmacy’s patient population and the professional services provided. References should be reviewed, evaluated and updated on a regular basis to ensure each remains relevant, current and suitable for its intended purpose: to allow registrants to meet the Standards of Practice.

No. The Cannabis Act states that activities with cannabis are prohibited unless authorized. Under the Act, it is prohibited to obtain, or offer to obtain cannabis by any method or process, including altering its chemical or physical properties. As such, any compounding activity by a pharmacy professional involving cannabis would require enabling regulations, in addition to complying with applicable provincial requirements.

Cannabis is regulated federally by Health Canada’s Cannabis Legalization and Regulation Branch (CLRB), who is responsible for enforcement of the Cannabis Act and Cannabis Regulations as well as issuance of any licenses that may be issued to conduct activities with cannabis.

For additional information, please review the College’s Cannabis Strategy for Pharmacy or contact the CLRB at cannabis@canada.ca

The requirements for a prescription to be “signed” are established in the federal regulations relevant for the schedule of the drug. There is nothing in the regulations mandating the use of a “wet” signature. As explained in the related 2014 article, Navigating Electronically Generated Prescriptions, “Health Canada has broadly defined ‘signing’ as whatever is determined to be necessary to authorize and validate the order.”

The College’s Position Statement Authenticity of Prescriptions using Unique Identifiers for Prescribers (July 2013) describes three examples of distinct authorization methods:

• a traditional pen-and-ink signature, or
• an electronically captured image of a unique signature (generated on a signature pad), or
• a unique prescription authorization process which ensures that the prescriber has reviewed and authorized each individual prescription

There may be many different technologies available to prescribers, especially as computerized order entry and electronic prescriptions become increasingly common, to implement a unique authorization process and generate an order without an actual image of a signature.

Dispensers should review the Position Statement in its entirety, especially the guidance provided in the section The Responsibility of the Member. If the pharmacist decides that they need to verify the authenticity of the order, this may be done verbally or in writing (via fax). Prescribers should seek guidance from their regulatory College.