OCP Annual Report 2001/2002 - Ontario College of Pharmacists

The Complaints Committee is a statutory committee
that investigates complaints received by the College
about its members. In each case the Committee assesses
the presented facts and the particular member’s response
as well as considers any practice improvement measures
implemented by the member. The Committee then
makes a decision geared towards the simultaneous goals
of achieving public safety and educating the member.
Iris Krawchenko, Chair
Committee Members:
Roger Ball (NCCM)
Joan Boyer
David Malian
Barry Solway
Complaints Committee
The Committee also uses its review process to identify
opportunities for practice improvement both in the
member’s practice and the practice setting. The
Committee then orders appropriate remediation. It is the
Committee’s philosophy that this approach is the most
effective means of carrying out its mandate of public
protection. As a result, the Committee has expanded its
repertoire of educational resources so that each decision
is carefully designed to best effect improvement in the
member’s practice.
Workload
This past year was the third and final year the current
complement of Committee members served together.
The Committee’s work focused on maintaining consistency
in both approach and decision-making, while
simultaneously keeping an open mind to current trends
in the industry, and practices and procedures that may
have an impact on assessing a pharmacist’s conduct. It
also increased the frequency of its meetings from six to
eight times a year to expedite the timeliness in disposing
cases. The Committee made final decisions on, and
disposed of, 136 complaint investigations.
Referrals
In addition to issuing reminders and cautions, the
Committee also refers members to the Quality Assurance
Program, the College’s Jurisprudence Seminar &
Examination, or other suitable educational programs.
Only 18 of the 136 cases reviewed were referred to the
Discipline Committee — a step reserved for the most
serious cases where public safety is at risk and no other
alternative is appropriate.
Medication Error Prevention
As in past years, the majority of cases reviewed by the
Complaints Committee involved medication dispensing
errors. The Committee continues to closely examine the
circumstances surrounding the error as well as the pharmacist’s
response. The Committee broadened its
assessment of these situations by critically analyzing the
processes, human and otherwise, that lead to error.
In determining whether the member’s particular breach
of the Standards of Practice should result in a referral to
the Discipline Committee, the Committee considers the
seriousness of the error and whether there was reasonable
opportunity for the member to foresee that harm
could occur as a result of their error.
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OCP Annual Report 2001-2002