Frequently-Asked Questions

1. Who may prescribe in Newfoundland and Labrador?

2. What happens to a prescriptions and its refills when the original prescriber dies or otherwise leaves practice?

3. At times we are told as pharmacists to use "professional judgment". At what point does “professional judgment” become failure to abide by regulations or standards and possibly “professional misconduct”?

4. Is a pharmacist allowed to substitute generic versions of products that are not listed in the Interchangeable Formulary?

5. Can a pharmacist fax a refill request to the doctor? And, can a doctor fax a refill authorization to a pharmacy?

6. We received a faxed prescription for a narcotic from a physician for one of our regular patients. The prescription was faxed on the required TRPP blank and our pharmacy was indicated as the pharmacy to which it was being faxed. We filled the prescription so that it would be ready when the patient arrived. That night the patient passed in a prescription to be filled by the pharmacist who had just come on duty at suppertime. In attempting to fill this prescription the pharmacist discovered that this was the original copy of the prescription that had been faxed to the pharmacy by the physician earlier that day. Isn’t this a flaw in the system that could have resulted in the prescription being filled twice?

7. Is there an easy-to-use chart that explains the different requirements for Narcotics and Controlled Drugs?

8. I am not sure of the 'proper' procedure when part-filling a narcotic prescription in Newfoundland and Labrador. Does the pharmacist need to date and initial the ORIGINAL hard copy of the prescription at the time of each subsequent fill on a partial fill, or is it sufficient to sign the subsequent hard copy produced when the partial dispensed is created?

9. What are the requirements for dispensing methadone?

10. It is often difficult to locate original Schedule F prescriptions because they are filed on the narcotic file since the original document also included a narcotic. Is it still required to keep narcotic and controlled drug prescriptions on a separate file from the Schedule F prescriptions, or can we now file all prescriptions together according to the transaction number?

11. Vivitas Melatonin 3mg has been issued an NPN number 8000737 by Health Canada and is featured in our upcoming flyer. Is this product okay to sell in our province now? I thought there was some direction from the board not to sell Melatonin a while back. Please advise, as I don't want to contravene any provincial regulations.

12. I recently received a call from the Board office informing me that I was responsible for letting the office know that another pharmacist at our pharmacy had changed employment and moved to another pharmacy. I didn’t know that I was supposed to give such notices. Isn’t it the responsibility of the pharmacist in question to make sure you get notice of their changing jobs?

13. Is there a list of all the fees that a pharmacist or pharmacy may have to pay to the Board?

14. What drugs are affected by the Tamper Resistant Prescription Drug Pad Program?

15. The pharmacist at another pharmacy in my town contacted me today to tell me he is planning to close his pharmacy and wanted to know if I wanted to "buy" his prescription files - is this permitted?  What should I consider before making my decision?

16. How do I request authorization to destroy Narcotics and Controlled Drugs?