Policy and position statements

Pharmacist authorized prescription extensions: Joint statement by OPA, OCP, OMA and CPSO
 
On March 14, new regulations came into effect permitting pharmacists in accredited Ontario pharmacies to refill existing prescriptions which had no further authorized refills, under specified conditions. While the Ontario Pharmacists' Association and its members applauded this as formal acknowledgment and expansion of work that pharmacists have been doing for many years – advancing chronic medications to individual when the prescriber could not be reached – the new regulation has generated some discussion and confusion with pharmacists and physicians alike. 
 
It was with this in mind that the two professional associations (OPA and OMA) and two regulatory bodies (OCP and CPSO) came together to issue a “quadripartite” statement aimed at providing more clarity and perspective to our respective members regarding the new regulation. A copy of the letter has been posted to the OPA website. An exact copy of this letter has been sent to physicians by the OMA and CPSO, respectively.