Throughout 2023 and 2024, ACP has received a high volume of forgery reports. Recently, a number of reported forgery attempts have been connected to lost or stolen tracked prescription program (TPP) pads or forms.
ACP has added a new section to our forgery alert emails to alert pharmacy teams when prescribers report lost or stolen TPP pads or forms.
This information will be added to the alerts when new incidents of lost or stolen TPP pads or forms are reported. A full list of lost or stolen TPP pads or forms, provided by TPP Alberta, can be found on the ACP forgeries page.
Standard 6.6 of the Standards of Practice for Pharmacists and Pharmacy Technicians (SPPPT) requires that, before a prescription can be dispensed, a regulated member must assess if it has been altered, forged, or stolen. Before dispensing any medication, particularly Type 1 TPP medications, pharmacy teams are reminded of their responsibilities.
- Confirm the prescription’s legitimacy. Even if the TPP pad is authentic, it may have been stolen or lost. Contact the prescriber before dispensing the drug if there are any questions about authenticity or appropriateness.
- Assess the prescription’s origin. Be wary of prescriptions attributed to a specialist who might not normally prescribe for the condition indicated. For example, a narcotic prescription written on a TPP pad from an obstetrician-gynecologist to treat injuries from a reported motor vehicle accident might be an indication of a stolen TPP pad and forgery. Extra vigilance should also be exercised with all prescriptions for type 1 TPP drugs that originate from other Canadian jurisdictions.
- Ask for ID for new patients. As part of assessing the authenticity of the prescription and complying with patient identification requirements in Standard 8.1 of the SPPPT, consider asking for photo identification for all new patients who present a TPP pad prescription. If the patient is not able to provide photo ID, the pharmacy team should consider additional steps to confirm the patient’s identity.
- Complete an assessment. Properly assess the prescribed drug in context of the ACP’s opioid guidelines (i.e., max Oral Morphine Equivalents [OME] per day) and review the patient’s Netcare profile as part of your assessment of appropriateness. If the prescription is assessed as being inappropriate, this may also be an indication that it is a forgery.
- Do a double check. Check the lost or stolen TPP pads or forms list on the ACP forgeries webpage.
- Keep records up to date. Once you become aware of a lost or stolen TPP pad or form, apply notes to the prescriber’s profile on your pharmacy’s dispensing software system to alert pharmacy team members.
- Report any attempted or successful forgeries to ACP. When pharmacy teams report forgery attempts to ACP, it promotes awareness about recent forgery tactics.
Regulated members must exercise vigilance with any prescriptions for Type 1 TPP drugs and report any attempted or successful forgeries to help prevent the diversion of drugs and maintain the integrity of the drug system.
