News

Earlier in August, OCP hosted three virtual town halls to update registrants and partners on its progress to respond to corporate pressures concerns raised by pharmacy professionals throughout the province and our related Strategic Goal. Recordings of those sessions are now available. Corporate Pressures Update - August 2024 - Town Hall Session 1 Corporate Pressures Update - August 2024 - Town Hall Session 2 Corporate Pressures Update - August 2024 - Town Hall Session 3…

At its August 9, 2024, meeting the College Board of Directors passed a motion to close the emergency assignment class of registration, effective immediately. The College is no longer processing applications for emergency assignment registration for pharmacists or pharmacy technicians. Existing emergency assignment registration certificate holders have a transition period to move into another College class of registration. Emergency assignment pharmacists If you hold a pharmacist (emergency assignment) certificate of registration, you have until November…

Regulatory changes that affect the College’s registration and quality assurance processes will come into effect October 1, 2024. To support understanding of these changes and how they impact you, the College has created an information hub. There you’ll find: A summary of the upcoming changes Audience-specific FAQs Recordings of information sessions Other resources, including a table that compares the current environment with the October 1 environment Access the information hub.

The College welcomes the Health Minister’s announcement this week that the government is preparing to consult with its partners as it explores further expanding the scope of practice for Ontario’s pharmacy professionals. OCP, which regulates pharmacies, pharmacists and pharmacy technicians in the public interest, is looking forward to working collaboratively with the Ministry as it prepares for and implements its consultation following this important announcement. OCP is also looking forward to making its own submission…

The College is hosting virtual information sessions to share an overview of the upcoming changes to registration and quality assurance processes and answer questions. Although anyone can register, each information session is tailored for a specific audience group. Recordings will be made available following each session. Session 1: Pharmacy students, pharmacy schools July 18, 10:30 – 11:30 a.m. Session 2: Pharmacy technician students, pharmacy technician schools, and pharmacy technicians July 30, 1:30 – 2:30 p.m. Session 3:…

At its July 8, 2024 meeting, the Ontario College of Pharmacists’ Board of Directors adopted the following position regarding the use of closed Preferred Provider Networks (PPNs) and other payer-directed care models:  Closed PPNs (and other payer-directed care models) pose potential risk of harm to patients, contravene established ethical principles guiding the profession and conflict with standards of quality patient care. As Ontario’s pharmacy regulator, OCP has zero tolerance for any payment or reimbursement models…

OCP has published its final report on the feedback provided directly from registrants who shared their concerns about corporate pressures in pharmacy that are interfering with their ability to provide the kind of care they want to provide to their patients. Entitled “Under Stress and Duress”, the report analyzes information collected through a survey and series of town halls in March 2024 that led to the establishment of our zero-tolerance position on corporate pressures in…

The Ministry of Health has approved changes to the General regulation under the Pharmacy Act that impact the College’s registration and quality assurance processes. These changes will come into effect October 1, 2024, and will allow for a more efficient registration process and an enhanced approach to quality assurance in the interest of patient safety. Changes related to registration include: Elimination of the pharmacy student class of registration. This aligns with the practice of other health professions where students…

In fall 2024, the College will be transitioning from the Structured Practical Training (SPT) program to the Practice Assessment of Competence at Entry (PACE) model for pharmacy technician applicants. Pharmacy technician applicants who are not already licensed in another Canadian province/territory will be required to successfully complete PACE alongside other College entry-to-practice requirements, including the Jurisprudence, Ethics and Professionalism exam. Pharmacy technicians already registered with the College are not required to complete PACE. What is…

In response to concerns raised by pharmacy professionals, the College has taken a number of important steps to address corporate pressures that get in the way of pharmacy professionals’ ability to make decisions in the best interests of their patients. These include: Reviewing how we accredit pharmacies and our processes for reviewing applications for accreditation and renewal. This may involve looking at the conduct and character of all directors and the contents of contracts and…