Protecting the Public

The Ontario College of Pharmacists is the registering and regulating body for the profession of pharmacy in Ontario. The College’s mandate is to serve and protect the public.

Protecting Public Safety:

• Regulating the practice of pharmacy in accordance with relevant legislation and regulations
• Developing and enforcing pharmacy standards of practice, policies and guidelines and the code of ethics
• Ensuring only those applicants who have met the registration requirements are authorized to practice in Ontario
• Promoting continued competency among pharmacists and pharmacy technicians through a quality assurance program
• Ensuring only those pharmacies that have met the accreditation criteria are authorized to operate in Ontario
• Conducting routine inspections of pharmacy operations to ensure compliance with established standards and support continuous quality improvement
• Managing the complaints resolution process related to pharmacists, students, interns, pharmacy technicians and pharmacies
• Promoting patient-centred, collaborative health care that uses the skills and knowledge of all health-care professionals
• Facilitating safe medication use by encouraging practitioners to:
  • Learn from medication incidents and near-misses to avoid similar mistakes in the future
  • Report medication incidents to the Institute for Safe Medication Practices Canada or Canadian Medication Incident Reporting and Prevention System

The Federation for Health Regulatory Colleges of Ontario published the following video as part of its 2013 public awareness initiative. Watch the video to learn how to access reliable and up-to-date information about any healthcare professional in Ontario. To find detailed information about your pharmacist, pharmacy technician or pharmacy, visit Find a Pharmacy or Pharmacy Professional.