The University of British Columbia (UBC) is pleased to announce that Dr. Michael Coughtrie has been appointed dean of the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences for a five year term commencing August 1, 2013. His appointment follows an extensive national and international search process. Dr. Coughtrie is currently a Professor of Biochemical Pharmacology and Operations Director of the Medical Research Institute, University of Dundee, Scotland.
As of February 4, 2013, the Natural Health Products (Unprocessed Product Licence Applications) Regulations (NHP-UPLAR) were repealed. With the repeal of the NHPUPLAR, Exemption Numbers will no longer be used. Health Canada offered a period of transition (until September 2014) to retailers to phase out their stock of approved products with non-compliant labeling.
Health product names often look and sound alike. These similarities sometimes cause clinicians and patients to confuse one drug name for another.
The College has long had an interest and an objective to harness the power of technology to improve pharmacy care and ultimately deliver better health outcomes for British Columbians. The College is proud of the work it did in supporting the launch of the PharmaNet system in 1995 and continues to support a number of initiatives related to technology.
2239 pharmacists in BC are now authorized to provide injections — nearly half of all pharmacists. British Columbia is now one of four provinces in Canada where pharmacists can receive authorization to administer injections. In an effort to provide consistency across jurisdictions, the Council of Pharmacy Registrars of Canada (CPRC) has made recommendations to the injection recertification
requirements.
Q. Are pharmacists in BC allowed to fill prescriptions from other provinces which have been adapted by a pharmacist?
A. In BC adapted prescriptions cannot be transferred. If the adaption originated from another province, it cannot be transferred to a BC pharmacy if the prescription was adapted by a registered pharmacist without prescribing authority.
There was some confusion in British Columbia when the Federal Government announced earlier this year that regulated pharmacy technicians would now be able to oversee the transfer of prescriptions from one pharmacy to another. Hadn't this always been the case? In British Columbia, yes it had.
The College of Pharmacists of British Columbia is the full, legal name of the College. To make a change to our name, the Legislature must pass legislation to amend not just the Health Professions Act, but also amend any legislation in which the College has been referenced.
Last month, the College circulated a survey to pharmacy technicians across the province with a goal of better understanding some of the unique issues faced by pharmacy technicians. Better knowledge of what is happening in the field helps the College do a better job of integrating technicians into its operations, developing policy and bylaw.
CE-PLUS TOOL BACK ONLINE ON NEW PDAP PORTAL
In February, after a series of service disruptions seriously impacted on the ability for pharmacists and pharmacy technicians to be able to fulfill their obligations with regards to continuing education, the College made the decision that the existing portal would need to be replaced with one supported by a better history of reliability. On May 6, the College launched its new PDAP Portal. The new portal is based on one used by a number of regulatory bodies across Canada, including the Ontario College of Pharmacists.