Please refer to this article, and to the website of the Professionals' Health Program, regarding assistance that it can offer to members and their families and co-workers. This assistance is funded by the College and the Ontario Pharmacists' Association, and can be accessed on a no-names basis even if the College is not yet aware of a health or incapacity issue.

The legislation defines “incapacitated” as “suffering from a physical or mental condition or disorder [e.g. substance dependence, certain psychiatric disorders] that makes it desirable in the interest of the public that the member’s practice be subject to terms, conditions or limitations, or that the member no longer be permitted to practise.”

Please find:

Guidelines for Handling Incapacitated Pharmacists, and

Reporting Incapacity

If it seems likely that a member is in fact seriously incapacitated, the member may be requested to voluntarily surrender his or her certificate of registration, pending the outcome of the inquiries mandated under the legislation. Health inquiries regarding possibly-incapacitated members are carried out by a:

Health Inquiry Panel

The Health Inquiry Panel is a panel of the Inquiries, Complaints and Reports Committee. After conducting certain inquiries, which may include requiring the member to undergo an independent medical examination, the Health Inquiry Panel may refer a matter to the Fitness to Practise Committee.

The Fitness to Practise Committee may hold a hearing to determine whether a member is incapacitated, and if so what terms, conditions or limitations should be placed on the member’s certificate of registration. These hearings are not punitive, and are not open to the public. If the member has enrolled with the Professionals' Health Program, such a hearing would most likely not have to be held at all – rather, the member would sign a Memorandum of Agreement with the College, aknowledging that s/he is incapacitated as that term is defined in the Legislation and agreeing to abide by a monitoring contract with the Professionals' Health Program.

If a member has been referred to the Fitness to Practise Committee regarding a possible incapacity, or if a member’s practise has been restricted further to a finding of incapacity, that information is available through the Member Register.