Supervision is an important element in health professional training and practice and is central to the learning process In December 2013, College Council approved a draft revised professional misconduct regulation for submission to government. The proposed draft regulation, which is currently under review by government, contains both new and revised provisions. One of the new provisions makes it an act of professional misconduct to fail to appropriately supervise a person whom the member is professionally,…
By Ian Stewart B.Sc.Phm., R.Ph. When a patient requests a prescription refill, the need to retrieve the original prescription before the medication is dispensed is rarely required. However, pharmacists must be aware that when dispensing medications that have been logged and not previously dispensed, it is best practice to retrieve the original prescription to ensure accuracy and optimal patient outcomes. CASE: Ventolin Nebules 1mg/mlSig: 2ml bidMitte: 50ml Pulmicort Nebuamp 0.25mg/2mlSig: 1 Ampule q4-6h prnMitte: 40ml…
All regulated health professionals are legally and ethically obligated to protect the confidentiality of a patient’s personal health information. This article will provide an overview of what a member should consider in determining whether he or she has the authority to release a patient’s personal health information in selected circumstances. According to the rules established in 2004 under the Personal Health Information Protection Act (PHIPA), personal health information may only be disclosed by health information…
The common principles for interprofessional care presented here were reached through consensus, several years ago, by an ad-hoc working group of representatives from over fifteen regulatory colleges. The working group was chaired by the Ontario College of Pharmacists and included the College of Physicians and Surgeons, the Royal College of Dental Surgeons and the College of Nurses of Ontario. The group was brought together following the Ontario government's passing of Bill 179, the Regulated Health…
Ian Stewart B.Sc.Phm., R.Ph The misinterpretation of handwritten prescriptions is a common source of medication errors. However, the increase in use of computer generated prescriptions is a positive step in the prevention of errors caused by illegible handwriting. With the introduction of this new technology, pharmacists must be aware of the potential for new types of errors. Errors seen with computerized physician order entry (CPOE) include: omission of key information, inappropriate abbreviation, conflicting information, selection…
Some of the issues pharmacists are called upon to resolve are straight forward and therefore, the decision to be made is obvious. However pharmacists are expected to use their professional judgment when a decision is not so clear. As members of a self-regulated profession, pharmacists must be able to rationalize the clinical decisions that they make, to their peers and to any person or organization which may be affected by their actions, including individual patients,…
It has been more than a year since pharmacy technicians have become recognized as regulated health professionals in Ontario. To date, the College has registered more than 500 individuals as technicians, and there are up to 5,000 individuals who are on the road to regulation. Technicians play a vital role in the pharmacy setting, supporting the pharmacist in providing more comprehensive patient care services. By taking responsibility for the technical components of dispensing within the…
This article focuses on developing a comprehensive compliance program that utilizes defined treatment objectives, professional collaboration and compliance monitoring to achieve and document positive patient outcomes. The rationale behind dispensing medications in compliance packaging is to assist patients with self administration of their medication. Compliance packaging is one tool that can be used in treating certain disease states, addressing cognitive impairment and/or managing a large number of medications. In all cases, the basic objective is…
