File a Complaint

If you have a concern about the care or service you received from a pharmacy professional, often the best place to start is to speak directly with them about your concern. Alternatively, you may wish to speak with the Designated Manager of the pharmacy who is responsible for its overall operations and the supervision of all personnel. If this is not possible or if your concerns remain unaddressed, please review the information below.

Your complaint must be received in writing.

Please keep in mind the following:

• Please provide as much detail as possible about your concerns and include the date(s) and approximate time the incident(s) occurred, and the name and location of the pharmacy
• If you are filing a complaint on behalf of someone else, we will require the patient to sign a consent form, or you will need to provide supporting documentation authorizing you to act on their behalf (i.e. power of attorney, substitute decision maker, executor of a will, etc.)
• Although the complaints process is confidential, your name will be provided to the pharmacy professional when they receive notification that a complaint has been filed against them and therefore complainants cannot be anonymous
• We understand that although you may be feeling angry, upset, or frustrated, please communicate with College staff in a respectful manner in order for us to best assist you

The College cannot:

• Award compensation, damages, or refunds of any kind
• Direct how fees are set
• Request or direct an apology from the pharmacy professional
• Process anonymous complaints or investigate without notifying the pharmacy professional
• Investigate complaints about other healthcare providers

It’s important to know that 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 pharmacy professional 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 pharmacy professional. They are required to keep this information confidential.

In most cases, you or the pharmacy professional 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.

Hearings and reviews by HPARB are open to the public. HPARB decisions are published on CanLii with the full names of complainants and pharmacy professionals unless HPARB orders otherwise.