Consultation on a New Virtual Care Practice Direction and Changes to the Prescribing Practice Direction

A practice direction is a written statement made by the College of Pharmacists of Manitoba’s (CPhM) Council for the purpose of giving directions to pharmacists and owners about the conduct of their practices or pharmacy operations. Practice Directions carry similar legal significance to Regulations. 

CPhM is seeking feedback from pharmacy professionals, system partners, and the public on a proposed new Virtual Care Practice Direction and amendments to the existing Prescribing Practice Direction.  

Proposed Changes 

  1. New practice direction: a new practice direction on virtual care has been created. 
  2. Amendments to the Prescribing Practice Direction: Section 2.4 has been amended to remove the requirement for a pharmacist’s prescribing assessment to include in-person or face-to-face communication, allowing for a virtual assessment if it is compliant with the new Virtual Care Practice Direction. Sections 2.4.1 and 2.4.2 have been amended to include virtual assessment and follow up by a regulated health care provider.  
  3. Exemption to be repealed: The existing exemption to section 2.4 of the Prescribing Practice Direction (which currently provides an exemption to the requirement for in person or face-to-face communication when a pharmacist is prescribing) will be repealed. This exemption will no longer be required.    

Background 

Virtual care is the delivery of health care services remotely using secure, enabling technology (such as telephone or video conferencing), where the patient and the pharmacist are in different locations. The Virtual Care Practice Direction and the amendments to the Prescribing Practice Direction are intended to set requirements for virtual care that ensure public safety while balancing the need for accessibility to pharmacy services.  

The scope of this consultation does not include aspects of care specific to cross-jurisdictional care or the virtual supervision of pharmacy support staff.  

An additional practice direction to set standards specifically for cross-jurisdictional care is being developed and will be released for consultation at a later date.  

Supervision of support staff (pharmacy students, technicians and other persons) is addressed in Section 68(a) of The Pharmaceutical Act, Part 8 of the Pharmaceutical Regulation and the Supervision Practice Direction, and currently require a pharmacist to be physically present at the pharmacy to provide indirect or direct supervision.  

Consultation Period 

The CPhM Council has approved a 30-day public consultation period for these draft practice direction amendments. We encourage you to review the proposed changes and provide your feedback. 

The draft practice directions can be accessed through the following links:  

To provide feedback please complete the following form https://forms.office.com/r/uSCKu3ANY3  by June 21, 2026.  

Should you have any questions, please email info@cphm.ca .