The College
What's New
Medication Management by Pharmacists
By amendment to the pharmacy regulations, new standards of pharmacy practice for Medication Management adopted by the Newfoundland and Labrador Pharmacy Board became effective on June 18, 2010. Under these Medication Management standards, pharmacists may adapt prescriptions for some types of drugs, extend prescriptions for these drugs or provide an interim supply on an existing prescription all under specific conditions set out in the standards of pharmacy practice.
Several other provinces, including Nova Scotia, already have similar regulations or standards permitting medication management.
The Pharmacy Board and the Department of Health and Community Services consulted with the College when the Medication Management standards were proposed. The College anticipates that the Pharmacy Board and the Department will continue to consult with the College if the Pharmacy Board considers any future amendments to the Medication Management standards.
The Medication Management standards of pharmacy practice are available online at the Newfoundland and Labrador Pharmacy Board website.
Recommendations for Physicians
The College advises physicians that they should consider, when writing a prescription, whether it is prudent or advisable to write one or more of the directions “DO NOT ADAPT”, “DO NOT EXTEND”, or “DO NOT RENEW” on the prescription.
The College advises physicians to review the Medication Management standards of pharmacy practice and the standard notification template. Physicians should not agree to any notification arrangement that would delay receipt of notification.
The Canadian Medical Protection Association newsletter Perspectives includes an article in the December 2009 issue titled “Liability issues when collaborating with prescribing pharmacists”. This article discusses issues related to Medication Management.
The CMPA article advises that physicians should consider employing an office/clinic process that supports the timely review of communications from pharmacists. The College endorses this advice and recommends that physicians establish a process for timely review of Medication Management notifications from pharmacists.
The complete advisory from the College is available in the Policies, Guidelines and Advisories section.
