Before You File a Complaint
What to know:
- We encourage you to talk directly with your pharmacist and/or the Designated Manager of the pharmacy to address your concern before making a complaint.
- You also have the option of reporting information, instead of making a complaint. Learn more on the Report Concerns page.
- We understand that you may be feeling angry, upset, or frustrated, but please communicate with College staff in a respectful manner so we can help you.
- We use the term “registrant” below to describe pharmacists, pharmacy technicians and interns.
| We can investigate | We cannot |
|---|---|
|
|
Important Note: Your personal information may be disclosed during the investigation and in any appeal processes.
Your personal information (such as your telephone number and email address) and your personal health information (such as your pharmacy and medical records) may be provided to the registrant during the investigation.
If you are filing a complaint on behalf of someone else, their personal information and personal health information may also be provided to the registrant. The registrant is required to keep this information confidential.
In most cases, you or the registrant can request a review of the outcome of the complaint investigation. As part of this review by the Health Professions Appeal and Review Board (HPARB), we are required to provide all documents that were part of the investigation.
These documents may contain your personal information and your personal health information. If you had filed a complaint on behalf of someone else, their personal information and personal health information may also be included in the documents provided to HPARB.
Reviews by HPARB are open to the public. HPARB decisions are published on CanLII with the full names of complainants and registrants unless HPARB orders otherwise.
File a Complaint
What to know:
- You must make a complaint in writing.
- You cannot make an anonymous complaint.
- We need as much detail as possible about your concerns, the incident, and the pharmacy.
Filing a complaint on behalf of someone else?
The patient may need to sign a consent form, or you will need to provide supporting documentation authorizing you to act on their behalf (e.g., power of attorney, substitute decision maker, executor of a will).
Have evidence to provide?
Please send all supporting information, such as prescription receipts, labels, vials of medication, photos, audio recordings, emails, text messages, or any other evidence related to your concerns to the email address or mailing address below.
Ontario College of Pharmacists
Attention: Intakes, Conduct Operations
483 Huron Street
Toronto, ON M5R 2R4
[email protected]
Need help filing a complaint or have any accessibility concerns?
We will provide accessible formats and communication supports for persons with disabilities. Please contact us at [email protected] for more information or to ask for support in filing a complaint.
We can also provide you with a paper copy of the complaints form. Please contact the Intakes Team at (416) 962-4861 or toll free: 1-800-220-1921 ext. 3800 or email [email protected] and provide your name and address.
After You File a Complaint
What to know:
- You may be contacted first by our Intakes Team to confirm your information or provide more details.
- Your complaint will be given to a College staff member to oversee. A staff member may contact you to provide an overview of the process and answer any questions you have. Any communication you have with a College staff member will be part of the investigation record.
- We use a risk-based approach to prioritize complaints and investigations, which can affect how long it takes to resolve your complaint. The Risk Assessment Framework provides information on how we assign a risk level to every complaint.
Here’s what happens after we get your complaint.
- We notify the registrant that a complaint has been made. They provide their response.
- A College staff member conducts an impartial and confidential investigation. Their goal is to gather all the relevant information. We may review medical records or seek information from you, the patient (if not you), the registrant, and other healthcare professionals who have relevant information to share.
- The results of the investigation are reviewed by a panel of the Inquiries, Complaints and Reports Committee (ICRC).
- The ICRC panel decides on the outcome of the complaint. They could decide to:
- Take no further action.
- Provide advice or recommendations to the registrant on how to improve their practice.
- Issue a caution, requiring the registrant to appear before the panel for a discussion about the concerns. Cautions are posted on the public register.
- Require completion of a Specified Continuing Education or Remediation Program (SCERP) to address concerns about the registrant’s practice. SCERPs are posted on the public register.
- Refer the registrant to another panel of the ICRC for health inquiries when there is concern that their health is affecting their practice.
- Refer the registrant to the Discipline Committee. A referral to discipline will be posted on the public register and discipline hearings are public proceedings.Have the registrant sign an undertaking to agree to restrict their practice in some way.
- You and the registrant are notified of the outcome and provided with the written decision and reasons.
- In most cases, you and the registrant both have the option to request a review of the decision and reasons by the Health Professions Appeal and Review Board (HPARB).
If you are a registrant who is the subject of a complaint, please review what you should do and important information to know.