The federal government has passed new regulations that require pharmacists who dispense a substance in connection with the provision of medical assistance in dying (MAID) to report basic information regarding the patient, pharmacist, practitioner, date, and setting in which the medication was dispensed.
Schedule 7 of the regulations includes the reporting requirements for pharmacists. The report is required within 30 days after having dispensed a substance. Though multiple substances may be dispensed in the context of medical assistance in dying, only one report per case is required. The dispensing pharmacist is the only pharmacist who is required to file a report.
The objectives of the new regulations, which also require reporting by physicians and nurse practitioners, are to
- support public accountability and transparency in relation to medical assistance in dying in order to build public trust;
- support the protection of vulnerable individuals by monitoring the application of the eligibility criteria and procedural safeguards required by the legislation;
- identify and monitor trends in requests for, and the provision of, medical assistance in dying;
- help determine whether the 2016 amendments to the Criminal Code are meeting their objectives; and
- make data available to qualified researchers for the purpose of enabling independent analysis and research.
The regulations prescribe what the collected data may be used for and prohibit the publication of pharmacist’s names.
ACP is working with Alberta Health Services and other regulated professions affected by the regulation, to develop guidance for our registrants in advance of the regulation coming into force. Any forms or tools that may assist pharmacists in complying with the regulation will be communicated through The Link and posted alongside the MAID Protocol in the secure section of ACP’s website.
