The College is currently seeking feedback on proposed amendments to the Pharmacy Act Regulations that, if approved, would authorize pharmacists to administer select vaccines.

The proposed changes would allow for the administration of vaccinations for 13 diseases that are preventable by vaccines. This includes vaccinations for Haemophilus Influenzae Type B, Hepatitis A, Hepatitis B, Herpes Zoster, Human Papillomavirus, Japanese Encephalitis, Meningitis, Pneumococcal Disease, Rabies, Tuberculosis, Typhoid Disease, Varicella Virus and Yellow Fever.

Additionally, the proposed amendments would authorize pharmacy students and interns to administer injections — including those under the Universal Influenza Immunization Program and the selected vaccines — subject to the terms, limits and conditions imposed on their certificate of registration.

Please provide your feedback on this open consultation. The feedback deadline is May 29, 2016.

In the Winter 2016 issue of Pharmacy Connection, we published the last article in our four-part series on the College’s recent initiative to revise the profession’s Code of Ethics. This article focuses on two principles of healthcare ethics that the new Code is founded on: respect for persons/justice and accountability.

Respect for persons/justice refers to your obligation as a healthcare professional to respect and honour the intrinsic worth and dignity of every patient as a human being, and to treat all patients fairly and equitably.  

Accountability refers to your duty to be fully responsible for both your actions and behaviours and for those of your colleagues.

The College is currently developing a series of e-learning modules to support your understanding and application of the Code in everyday practice.

More information on the new Code of Ethics, which came into effect on December 7, 2015, can be found under the Key Initiative on the College website.

We encourage you to read the full article, “It’s Not About You, It’s About the Patient!” for more on these two principles and helpful examples of each. 

As a pharmacist, you’re required to counsel patients on all new and refill prescriptions. Failing to do so can lead to serious issues, as we recently outlined in the “Close-Up on Complaints” article in the Winter 2016 issue of Pharmacy Connection.

In this article, you’ll read about a practitioner who failed to appropriately counsel the patient, didn’t catch a key mistake that was made, and neglected to treat the patient with dignity and respect. We discuss what went wrong and point out what the practitioner could have done differently to better serve the needs of the patient. 

Key learnings include the importance of employing effective communication techniques when speaking with patients, such as watching patients' non-verbal cues to ensure they understand.

Read the full article now: “Dealing With Dispensing Errors: How Effective Communication Can Help”