Temporary Registration Now Available to Support BC’s COVID-19 Response

BC's COVID-19 Response

The situation regarding COVID-19 continues to evolve here in BC, Canada and other jurisdictions in the world. The College of Pharmacists of BC is working closely with the Ministry of Health and other partners to support the response to this new illness as part of BC’s health system.

The College will provide any updated information or guidance for pharmacy professionals as it becomes available.

Please follow updates provided on bcpharmacists.org/COVID19

Pharmacy professionals exhibiting COVID-19 symptoms should follow the COVID-19 testing process developed for all British Columbia health care workers.

Temporary Registration Now Available to Support BC’s COVID-19 Response

On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization declared the COVID-19 outbreak a pandemic. In BC, BC's Provincial Health Officer declared a public health emergency on March 17, 2020.

Given the anticipated increased demand for pharmacists and pharmacy technicians to help with BC’s response to the pandemic, the College developed amendments to Health Professions Act Bylaws to enable eligible individuals to apply for temporary registration with the College to provide pharmacy services during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The amended bylaws are in now in effect.

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Temporary Registration Now Active

Under section 45. (1)(b) of the College’s Health Professions Act Bylaws, temporary registration is now activated. On March 16, 2020, as part of BC’s COVID-19 response, Adrian Dix, Minister of Health, and Dr. Bonnie Henry, BC's Provincial Health Officer, requested all health regulators to begin the emergency registration of non-practising or retired health-care professionals, including professionals from other jurisdictions and the armed forces.

Individuals who may be eligible for temporary registration with the College of Pharmacists of BC during the COVID-19 pandemic, include:

Former Registrants
Non-Practicing Pharmacists
Pharmacy graduates (including UBC) who are not yet full Pharmacists
Pharmacy Students from Outside of BC

If you are interested in applying for temporary registration to contribute to BC’s response to the COVID-19 response, use the following chart to determine your options for temporary registration with the College.

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Temporary Registration options

Eligible individuals may apply for temporary registration with the College to provide pharmacy services during this emergency period. Unlike other types of registration classes, temporary registration is granted only for the period of the declared emergency and it will end on a date determined by the Registrar or the Registration Committee.

There are four classes under this type of registration and their differences are summarized in the table below:

Class	who is eligible to apply?	scope of practice
Temporary Pharmacist	Currently registered as the equivalent of a full pharmacist in another jurisdiction in Canada or in the United States, and have no limitations, restrictions or conditions on practice; OR Former registrant who was registered as a full pharmacist within the last 3 years; OR Non-practising pharmacist who was registered as a full pharmacist within the last 3 years.	Can perform restricted activities/pharmacy services as if they are a full pharmacist, including drug administration by injection and intranasal route if applicable.
Temporary Pharmacy Technician	Currently registered as the equivalent of a pharmacy technician in another jurisdiction in Canada, and have no limitations, restrictions or conditions on practice; OR Former registrant who was registered as a pharmacy technician within the last 3 years; OR Non-practising pharmacy technician who was registered as a pharmacy technician within the last 3 years.	Can perform restricted activities/pharmacy services as if they are a pharmacy technician.
Temporary Limited Pharmacist	Pharmacy graduates who have completed their Structural Practical Training (SPT) requirements but not all the required assessments for registration; OR Pharmacy graduates who have completed their Jurisprudence Exam, PEBC Evaluating (if applicable) and Qualifying Exams, but not their SPT.	Can perform restricted activities/pharmacy services under the direct supervision of a full pharmacist.
Temporary Student Pharmacist	Pharmacy students enrolled in a recognized pharmacy education program outside BC.	Can perform restricted activities/pharmacy services under the direct supervision of a full pharmacist.

Eligible applicants may apply for temporary registration through the College's Temporary Registration Application Process.

Options for pharmacy professionals who were registered within the last 90 days

Former registrants and non-practising registrants who were registered as a Full Pharmacist or Pharmacy Technician with the College within the past 90 days have two options to become registered:

Apply as a Temporary Pharmacist or Temporary Pharmacy Technician, or
Reinstate their Full Pharmacist or Pharmacy Technician registration and use the PDAP exemption.

A Professional Development and Assessment Program (PDAP) exemption has been provided for the remainder of 2020 registrant renewals as well as to pharmacists and pharmacy technicians who wish to be reinstated after holding non-practicing and/or former status for less than 90 days since they were last a Full Pharmacist.

The table below summarizes the major differences between the two options for this group of individuals:

	Option #1: Temporary registration	Option #2: reinstatement < 90 days
Application Type	Temporary Registration	Reinstatement < 90 days ("Late Renewal")
Validity of Registration when Granted	Until the Registrar/Registration Committee has declared that the public health emergency is over	1 year from the registration expiry date as a Full Pharmacist or Pharmacy Technician
CE Requirements	None	Exempted
Application Requirements (HPA Bylaws)	HPA Section 45	HPA Section 53
Fees	CRC Fee only	Annual Registration Fee and CRC if applicable (Late fee waived)

For those who wish to proceed with the second option, contact the Registration Department at [email protected] to initiate your reinstatement application.

UBC Fourth Year Pharmacy Students

Once a UBC pharmacy student graduates, they will no longer be registered as a Student Pharmacist with the College. Until then, they can continue providing pharmacy services under the direct supervision of a full pharmacist as a Student Pharmacist.

After graduation, if they wish to continue providing pharmacy services before they meet all the registration requirements as a full pharmacist, they may:

Apply as a Temporary Limited Pharmacist, or
Apply as a Limited Pharmacist.

	Temporary Limited pharmacist	limited pharmacist
Application Type	Temporary Registration	Limited Pharmacist Registration Note: this type of application must be reviewed by the Registration Committee before registration can be granted.
Validity of Registration when Granted	Until the Registrar/Registration Committee declared that the public health emergency is over	1 year when granted by the Registration Committee
Application Requirements (HPA Bylaws)	HPA section 45	HPA Section 44
Fees*	CRC Fee only	Annual Registration Fee and CRC if applicable

*fee not transferrable/refundable

Pharmacy students who have graduated, but not yet become a full pharmacist, may apply for temporary limited pharmacist registration through the College’s Temporary Registration Application Process.

Apr 01, 2020