In September, the College posted proposed amendments to its By-law No. 3 for public consultation.
The amendments supported changes to the Drug and Pharmacies Regulation Act
(DPRA) regulation, ongoing transparency initiatives within the College,
and changes in the organizational structure and fees for the College.
While
a number of administrative and housekeeping-type changes were made, the
most significant amendments were related to changes in fees and changes
to information that the College will post on the public register.
A
total of 77 responses were received through the public consultation
process from practitioners, organizations, and the public. The
majority of feedback pertained to the proposed fees for hospital
pharmacies. Many comments noted that the proposed fees were too high and
did not take into consideration the hospital’s size, complexity,
budget, services offered, or number of staff.
As
a result of this feedback, Council reduced the fees for hospital
pharmacies at their December 2015 meeting before approving the proposed
by-laws. Hospital accreditation fees were reduced from $6,000 to $4,000
($2,000 for application and $2,000 for issuance of a Certificate of
Accreditation) and annual renewal fees were reduced from $5,000 to
$3,500.
All other proposed amendments to the by-law were approved as circulated.
The by-law has been renamed to By-Law No. 4 and is now in effect. Hospital accreditation fees come into effect upon the proclamation of the amended DPRA regulation.
To learn more about hospital oversight, visit the key initiatives page on the College website.