Dispensing Drugs: A Consultation

Draft policy now out for consultation

CPSO is reviewing its expectations for physicians who dispense drugs in their practice. This policy will affect a very limited number of physicians as the practice of dispensing is uncommon among doctors. It most often occurs in areas where patients lack access to a pharmacy (e.g. remote communities) or in a limited number of other circumstances (e.g. for point-of-care administration).

The aim of the Dispensing Drugs policy is to ensure physicians meet the same standards as pharmacists when dispensing drugs. To that end, the draft policy and Advice to the Profession document were developed in collaboration with the Ontario College of Pharmacists.

The draft policy, which is now out for consultation, retains the current policy’s core expectations, but proposes some new additions to help ensure patient protection and autonomy, namely as it relates to patient counselling, patient choice and monitoring of recalled drugs.

The draft Advice to the Profession document is a newly developed companion document to the policy, and provides additional guidance and resources about dispensing fees, labelling, patient counselling, drug storage, procurement and minimizing dispensing errors.

Please visit the dedicated webpage to participate in the draft policy consultation.