Friday Five (October 2, 2020)

NAPRA Sterile Compounding

The Council of the College of Pharmacists of Manitoba (College) approved the extension of Phase 3 of the implementation schedule for the National Association of Pharmacy Regulatory Authorities (NAPRA) Model Standards for Pharmacy Compounding of Hazardous Sterile Preparations on September 18, 2020.

Facilities not in compliance with Phase 3 of the implementation timeline for sterile compounding by the original implementation date of January 1, 2021, must submit plans to Chris Louizos (CLouizos@cphm.ca) outlining in detail how they will achieve compliance by January 1, 2022.

Requirements for Phase 3 of the implementation timeline include:

• Compliance with section 6.1 of the NAPRA Model Standards: Establish documented beyond-use dates and dating methods
• Compliance with section 5.3 of the NAPRA Model Standards: Facilities and Equipment.

Full compliance with Phase 3 of the implementation timeline is expected by January 1, 2022.

Compounding Resources

Please be advised that an updated version of the guidance document for the Provision of Non-sterile compounding services in Manitoba Pharmacies has been posted in the Resource Library on the College website.  Please visit the compounding section of the College website for resources your pharmacy can use to help achieve compliance with the NAPRA Model Standards for Non-Sterile Compounding.

As well, please visit the Compounding Section of the College website for resources your pharmacy can use to help achieve compliance with the NAPRA Model Standards for Non-Sterile Compounding.

Council Motion — Extension of Exemption to Prescribing Practice Direction

College Council has extended the exemption to Section 2.4 of the Prescribing Practice Direction, which requires that a pharmacist conduct an in-person or face-to-face patient assessment. The exemption permits a pharmacist to conduct a direct patient assessment via telephone, if appropriate, when a pharmacist is considering issuing a prescription within their scope of practice to a patient. This exemption was originally approved by Council and implemented on March 17, 2020 and extended on May 15, 2020. The exemption has now been further extended to September 30, 2021 and may be re-assessed upon expiry.

All other requirements must be met as described in the Act, Regulation, and the Prescribing and Prescribing and Dispensing Practice Directions.

Council Motion — Extension of Joint Guidance to Physicians, Nurse Practitioners & Pharmacy Professionals: Narcotic and Controlled Drug Prescriptions for Personal Care Home Residents

The Joint Guidance to Physicians, Nurse Practitioners and Pharmacy Professionals:  Narcotic and Controlled Drug Prescriptions for Personal Care Home Residents, approved on April 7, 2020, permits verbal orders from physicians and RN(NP)s for narcotics and controlled drugs under the CDSA for residents of personal care homes during the pandemic. This joint statement is in line with the provisions granted in Health Canada’s Subsection 56(1) Class Exemption, which were set to expire on September 30, 2020, but have been extended to September 30, 2021. CPhM Council has also extended the expiry on this joint guidance document to September 30, 2021.

Please be reminded that this exemption applies to residents of a personal care home only.

Administration of Drugs/Vaccines — Informed Consent

The College was notified that the requirement for a pharmacist to obtain written informed consent when administering a vaccine may be a barrier in implementing electronic records/forms and in trying to lessen patient contact during the pandemic.

As a result, Council approved the changes to the Practice Direction – Standard of Practice # 5: Administration of Drugs including Vaccines to allow pharmacists to receive informed verbal or written consent from the patient when administering drugs and vaccines.

The pharmacist must obtain consent from the patient or from the person authorized to consent on the patient’s behalf to administer the drug, including vaccines, in accordance with The Public Health Act and the Immunization Regulation made under the Act. This consent must be documented accordingly.

Pharmacists who are administering drugs or vaccines should review the updated Practice Direction here and the requirements outlined in the Public Health Branch Informed Consent Guidelines for Immunization.

Manitoba Health Drug Shortages PIN List and Sublocade

Pharmacy professionals are encouraged to review the most recent Manitoba Health Drug Shortage PIN List. Of note, Sublocade (buprenorphine extended-release injection) is currently included on the PIN list (PIN 09858128 for Sublocade 300 mg/1.5 mL and PIN 09858127 for Sublocade 100 mg/0.5 mL). Prescriptions filled using these PINs, or any other PIN on this list, will not flag duplicate drug/duplicate therapy intervention codes (MW/MX/MY/MZ) in DPIN.

Pharmacists are encouraged to review a patient’s DPIN profile, as required, when filling a prescription for a medication on this PIN list, in order to ensure the patient is not receiving duplicate therapy or at risk of a drug interaction.

Questions regarding the PIN list can be directed to Manitoba Health’s PDP Information and Audit team via e-mail to PDPInfoAudit@gov.mb.ca or via fax to: 204-786-8560

Does Your Pharmacy Carry Naloxone Kits?

In keeping with the mandate to protect public and patient safety, the College is compiling and updating a list of pharmacies that carry naloxone kits.  Please review the current list available on our site here. If the existing information requires updating or your pharmacy would like inclusion on the list, we invite your pharmacy manager to provide the College with your pharmacy’s:

• name,
• address, and
• phone number.

You can email the above information to info@cphm.ca with the subject line Naloxone Kits. The list will be updated and posted on the College website in order to help interested people and organizations find a location to purchase naloxone kits and learn how to use them.

The College encourages all pharmacies to carry and dispense naloxone kits to give appropriate access to the drug.  Please note that pharmacists selling naloxone must comply with the Guidelines for Pharmacists Selling Naloxone as a Schedule II Drug.  The College will not post information about price or availability but will instead encourage the patient to contact the pharmacy directly.

Supporting Implementation of Safety IQ in Community Pharmacies

October marks the beginning of a new phase for Safety IQ and the Guide for Pharmacy Managers is a key navigation tool for implementation. From now until May 2021, pharmacy managers must choose a platform provider or determine if the pharmacy’s current platform satisfies the College criteria. The pharmacy manager and the reporting platform will then work with ISMP Canada to facilitate the export of incident and near-miss data to the National Incident Data Repository. All this takes time, so you are encouraged to begin this process soon.

While pharmacy managers are responsible for implementing Safety IQ, patient safety is everyone’s responsibility.  Pharmacy team members can do their part by reviewing the Safety IQ resources available at cphm.ca and discussing the transition within the pharmacy.

Any questions or comments can be sent to College through email at safetyiq@cphm.ca.

Job Posting: Quality Assurance and Field Officer

The College of Pharmacists of Manitoba is presently in search of a Quality Assurance and Field Officer to support quality assurance and improvement programs and conduct site audits.

The successful candidate will provide practice advice to registrants, respond to questions from public and other stakeholders, conduct pharmacy practice audits and contribute to educational materials and guiding documents for public, pharmacists, and pharmacy owners.

This is a full-time permanent position, Monday to Friday, based on a 37.5 – hour workweek.

For a complete description of the duties, qualifications, and required attributes for this position, and to apply, view the on-line posting: https://www.fitzii.com/job/51720?s=fc

The position is posted both internally and externally. Applications will be reviewed from all sources as received until the position is filled.

The College values diversity and inclusion and encourages all qualified people to apply.