ACP Consultation: Proposed amendment to Standards of Practice for Animal Health
Animal Health
Proposed amendments to the Standards of Practice for Pharmacists and Pharmacy Technicians, including supporting guidelines, and the Standards for the Operation of Licensed Pharmacies
ACP is looking for pharmacy technicians to provide feedback on the amendment to the standards and new guidelines. This is a great opportunity for technicians to advocate for our profession.
The role of pharmacists and pharmacy technicians is established in schedule 19 of the Health Professions Act. Legislative amendment is required to authorize the roles of pharmacists and pharmacy technicians in animal health. The Alberta College of Pharmacy (ACP) is currently engaged with the ministry to pursue the necessary amendments, and in the interest of time has drafted proposed amendments to the Standards of Practice for Pharmacists and Pharmacy Technicians (SPPPT), including supporting guidelines, and the Standards for the Operation of Licensed Pharmacies (SOLP) to support these roles. The proposed amendments cannot come into effect until legislation is amended to accommodate them.
Pursuant to s133(1) of the Health Professions Act and s29.1 of the Pharmacy and Drug Act, our Council has approved the amendments to the following documents for consultation. This consultation focuses ONLY on the DRAFT amendments to current standards. While not consulting on the standards in their entirety, ACP has provided red-line versions of the entire standards to give reviewers context.
• Standards of Practice for Pharmacists and Pharmacy Technicians
• Standards for the Operation of Licensed Pharmacies
The Council has also approved for consultation the draft Guidelines for providing pharmacy services for animals. These are included in this consultation package.
Summary and background
ACP is working with the Minister of Health and Minister of Agriculture and Forestry to develop a solution to authorize and regulate pharmacists and pharmacy technicians when serving animal health. The ministers have inquired about the role of pharmacists and pharmacy technicians serving the health needs of animal herds, including food-producing animals.
Pharmacists and pharmacy technicians have historically and continue to compound, dispense, and sell drugs for companion animals pursuant to prescriptions provided by veterinarians. Currently, a role is not proposed for pharmacists to initiate drug treatment for animals. There is, however, a narrow scope for pharmacists to adapt prescriptions for animals based on their drug expertise, to ensure appropriate treatments are provided.
The existing standards need to be amended to recognize animals as patients and to define the practice expectations of pharmacists and pharmacy technicians in serving the drug therapy needs of these unique patients.
Feedback Submission deadline: Wednesday Sept. 16, 2020
For more information: ACP website