When ACP’s Standards for the Operation of Licensed Pharmacies (SOLP) came into effect in February 2025, they were designed to support effective leadership in the pharmacy with the introduction of the operations supervisor role, which empowers regulated members to take a leadership role in the pharmacy.
This concept was added to the SOLP to enable licensees to delegate administrative, managerial, and operational duties to a pharmacy technician or pharmacist designated as an operations supervisor.
In recent pharmacy inspections, ACP’s pharmacy practice consultants have found that the operations supervisor role has been assigned to unregulated employees (someone on the pharmacy team who is not a pharmacist or a pharmacy technician).
Licensees are reminded that an operations supervisor must be a pharmacy technician or a pharmacist registered by ACP. This important leadership role requires the training, expertise, and authority of a regulated pharmacy professional as they fulfill important roles related to the operations of a licensed pharmacy including supporting
- compliance with the policies and procedures in the licensed pharmacy,
- human resource duties such as hiring and scheduling of pharmacy staff, and
- training and orientation of pharmacy staff.
Delegating leadership roles to qualified regulated members is one important way for licensees to support effective operations, lead in accordance with the Licensee Competencies Framework, and promote quality person-centred care.
