Transforming and Supporting Patient Care - Health Professions ...

83Chapter 3 - A New Drug Approvals Framework For OntarioIn addition to these standards, health professions authorized to dispensedrugs should consider including additional requirements such as: reportingany loss or theft of drugs to the applicable authorities within a reasonabletime; methods to properly destroy a drug; dispensing drugs in “childresistant”packages; proper labelling and record-keeping. 47,48Prescribing and DispensingExcept for pharmacists, no health professions are currently authorized todispense drugs without also being permitted to prescribe drugs.Pharmacists are currently authorized to dispense drugs only pursuant toa prescription from an authorized prescriber or pursuant to a properdelegation of authority to dispense. 49HPRAC has concluded that this is an important safeguard, and that healthprofessionals should only be authorized to dispense pursuant to aprescription that is their own or from another authorized prescriber,or if there is a delegation from an authorized prescriber.Safeguards need to be in place to ensure that the person making thedecisions to provide drugs to a patient is aware of the patient’s medicalhistory and other medications he or she is taking. Otherwise, there arerisks that the patient will be given drugs that are either not appropriateor have contraindications with other medication.HPRAC concluded in its recent scope of practice reviews of several healthprofessions that it is not always necessary for a health professional to makeor communicate a diagnosis in order to prescribe a drug. Nonetheless,HPRAC holds that the DPRA definition of a prescription as “a direction froma prescriber directing the dispensing of any drug or mixture of drugs for adesignated person” should not change. 50Drug SamplesThe Food and Drugs Act (Canada) prohibits manufacturers from providingdrug samples unless the sample is provided to physicians, dentists,veterinary surgeons or pharmacists, and the drug is not a narcotic,a controlled drug or a drug that is not yet approved; and the drug islabelled in accordance with the regulations.When a manufacturer distributes a sample of a drug, it must maintainrecords showing: the name, address and description of the samplerecipient; the brand name, quantity and form of the sample distributed;and the date upon which the sample was provided.47The College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario, “Regulations Concerning Benzodiazepines andOther Targeted Substances” Online: College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario;http://cpso.on.ca/policies/policies/default.aspx?ID=1822.48College of Dental Surgeons of British Columbia, “Policy Statement: Prescribing andDispensing Drugs”, January 2005.49Drug and Pharmacies Regulation Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. H.4.50Ibid., s.1(1).HPRAC Critical Links January 2009