Why the College pursued regulation of pharmacy technicians:
For some time pharmacists have identified the desire to expand their services to include counselling and monitoring services for patients. In order to do so they needed additional assistance within the pharmacy. One viable solution, that the College has supported, is the creation of a regulated pharmacy technician; someone who would have the training and responsibility for certain duties within the pharmacy and who could fulfill this role and be accountable to a regulatory body for their work.

College initiatives in the pursuit of regulation:
To support pharmacists and enhance pharmacy services to the public, the College moved forward in two distinct yet related areas. The College created The Task Force on Optimizing the Pharmacist's Role with a mandate to establish the standards necessary for an expanded role. To develop a regulated professional who can support the pharmacist in their expanded role, the College's Pharmacy Technician Working Group began the work of identifying how a technician's role could evolve into becoming a regulated position.

The initial work of the Pharmacy Technician Working Group was to establish a profile of a Regulated Pharmacy Technician and what that position would do to support pharmacy practice. The Group developed The Pharmacy Technician Competency Profile, (originally approved by the Council in September 2003 and recently updated), as well as the Proposed Standards of Practice for Registered Pharmacy Technicians. More recently, the College approved a revised Code of Ethics, which applies to all members of the College, including pharmacy technicians once they become registered members.

The College has continued to support a number of other initiatives that are necessary to prepare for the registration of pharmacy technicians. These include collaborative efforts with other stakeholders to support the development of National Education Outcomes for Pharmacy Technician Education Programs, an accreditation process for Pharmacy Technician Education Programs and an entry-to-practice examination for pharmacy technicians wishing to pursue registration with the College. Updates on these and other related regulation activities have been regularly published in Pharmacy Connection and shared at District meetings and related conferences and workshops.

Legislative changes allow for regulation of pharmacy technicians:
The Health Systems Improvement Act, 2007 (Bill 171) was passed by the Ontario Legislature on June 4, 2007. This Act, which amends the Regulated Health Professions Act, the Pharmacy Act and Drug and Pharmacy Regulation Act as well as many other health profession acts, enables the regulation of pharmacy technicians.

The proclamation dates for various sections of the Act vary, with some coming into force immediately, while others come into force either one or two years from Royal Assent or when supporting regulations are in place. There are several steps that need to be put in place before the College will be ready to register pharmacy technicians. It is anticipated that the College will register the first group of pharmacy technicians early in 2010.

The Legislative Process - History
In December 2002, the Council of the Ontario College of Pharmacists decided to pursue the regulation of Pharmacy Technicians and made an initial request to the Ministry of Health and Long Term Care to consider this issue.

In February, 2005 the College received the green light from the government to submit a proposal for the regulation of pharmacy technicians. At that time Ontario Health Minister George Smitherman formally asked its Health Professions Regulatory Advisory Committee to provide him with advice on the regulation of pharmacy technicians. The College made its submission to HPRAC in April 2005, and after a year of review and consultation, HPRAC submitted their report to the Minister, which was released in May 2006. The report recommended that pharmacy technicians be regulated under the umbrella of the Ontario College of Pharmacists as a separate class of registration. In December 2006, George Smitherman introduced Bill 171, the Health Systems Improvement Act, to the Ontario legislature and it received Royal Assent, the last mark of government approval on June 4, 2007.