Does our pharmacy need to notify the College that we are dispensing methadone and/or buprenorphine/naloxone?

The College’s Opioid Policy specifies that pharmacists dispensing methadone for Opioid Agonist Treatment (OAT), also known as methadone maintenance treatment (MMT), must be in compliance with the Key Requirements for Methadone Maintenance Treatment (MMT) Dispensing Fact Sheet, which states: 

“Community pharmacies must inform the College within seven days of starting to dispense MMT and of any changes in this information, using the approved Methadone Dispensing Notification Form.” 

Notification is required to help the College fulfill its mandate to protect the public. All pharmacies undergo routine assessments every one to four years, depending on the activities performed at the pharmacy and the risk of harm those activities pose to the public. A community pharmacy dispensing methadone will be evaluated according to the operational assessment criteria more often than a pharmacy which does not. 

Pharmacies dispensing methadone as an opioid analgesic for pain or buprenorphine/naloxone are not required to notify the College.