ACP Council has approved a new standard of practice to enable pharmacists and pharmacy technicians to sell epinephrine auto-injectors to an authorized individual from a school. The new standard has been added to the Standards of Practice for Pharmacists and Pharmacy Technicians (SPPPT) and reads as follows:
Standard 1.23 – Subject to the directions of Council, a pharmacist or a pharmacy technician practising with the pharmacist may sell epinephrine auto-injectors to an individual authorized by a school board* to purchase epinephrine auto-injectors to be maintained in a school under the Protection of Students with Life Threatening Allergies Act despite the requirements in these standards respecting identification, assessment, communication, documentation and record keeping on a patient specific basis.
*As defined within the Protection of Students with Life-Threatening Allergies Act (2019)
The addition of the standard was necessary to allow pharmacists and pharmacy technicians to be compliant with the Protection of Students with Life-Threatening Allergies Act (PSLTA), which came into effect on January 1, 2020.
Regulated members and stakeholders were able to provide feedback about the draft standard and supporting guidelines during a 60-day consultation period that ended on December 31, 2019.
The new standard and guidelines provide authorization and additional direction on the requirements respecting identification, assessment, communication, documentation, and record keeping when providing an epinephrine auto-injector to an authorized individual purchasing on behalf of a school board.
It is important to note that the new standard and guidelines are intended to provide additional clarity for this unique circumstance. Except as noted in the guidelines, all existing SPPPTs and regulations with respect to the sale of schedule 2 drugs continue to apply when providing this product. As well, the new standard does not enable epinephrine auto-injectors or any other schedule 2 products to be sold to non-patients for any purpose other than compliance with the PSLTA.
Pharmacy teams can expect to be contacted by authorized school representatives about the purchase of epinephrine auto-injectors for their school. Under the Act, schools must have at least one epinephrine auto-injector on site. Individuals authorized by school boards to purchase epinephrine auto-injectors can be identified by the use of the Alberta Education Designation of Authorized School/School Authority Epinephrine Auto-Injector Purchaser Form.
To avoid shortages of this life-saving medication, pharmacies should only order stock in response to a confirmed request from a school. It is not appropriate to order stock in anticipation of a request or to order stock for the purposes of soliciting schools.
For more information about the Alberta Education Designation of Authorized School/School Authority Epinephrine Auto-Injector Purchaser Form, and ordering and billing procedures, please see Alberta Blue Cross Pharmacy Benefact #827.
