[40] Bill 117 Original (PDF)
Bill 117 2013
An Act to amend certain statutes with respect to the regulation of pharmacies and other matters concerning regulated health professions
Her Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Ontario, enacts as follows:
Drug and Pharmacies Regulation Act
1. Subsection 1 (1) of the Drug and Pharmacies Regulation Act is amended by adding the following definitions:
"hospital" means a hospital within the meaning of the Public Hospitals Act or a private hospital within the meaning of the Private Hospitals Act; ("hôpital")
"hospital patient" means a patient within the meaning of the Public Hospitals Act or the Private Hospitals Act; ("malade d'un hôpital")
"hospital pharmacy" means a location that is deemed to be a pharmacy by virtue of section 119; ("pharmacie en milieu hospitalier")
"institutional pharmacy" means a premises that is deemed to be a pharmacy by virtue of section 120; ("pharmacie en milieu institutionnel")
2. Subsection 118 (1) of the Act is amended by striking out the portion before clause (a) and substituting the following:
Application of the Act
(1) Subject to sections 119 and 120, this Act does not apply to,
. . . . .
3. The Act is amended by adding the following sections:
Hospital pharmacies
119. (1) Despite anything else in this Act, where drugs are compounded, dispensed or supplied for hospital patients by a hospital in premises located in a hospital, the primary location or locations in the hospital where drugs are compounded, dispensed or supplied from, together with any other location in the hospital where drugs are stored or supplied from and any other location prescribed in regulations made under subsection (2), is deemed to be a pharmacy for the purposes of the following provisions of this Act, subject to the regulations and to any necessary modifications:
1. Section 139.
2. Section 140.
3. Section 140.1.
4. Section 143.
5. Section 148.
6. Section 148.1.
7. Section 148.2.
8. Section 148.3.
9. Section 148.4.
10. Section 160.1.
11. Section 161.
12. Section 162.
13. Section 162.1.
14. Section 164.
15. Section 165.
16. Section 166.
17. Section 167.
Regulations
(2) The Lieutenant Governor in Council may make regulations prescribing locations for the purposes of subsection (1).
Institutional pharmacies
120. (1) The Lieutenant Governor in Council may make regulations,
(a) designating premises in or associated with one or more health or custodial institutions as institutional pharmacies;
(b) providing that any or all provisions of this Act apply with respect to institutions designated under clause (a), subject to the modifications, if any, provided for in the designating regulation.
Same
(2) Where a premises has been designated in regulations described in subsection (1), the premises is deemed to be a pharmacy for the purposes of the provisions of this Act provided for in those regulations, subject to the regulations and to any necessary modifications.
Not pharmacies for other purposes
121. (1) Hospital pharmacies and institutional pharmacies are not pharmacies, and the operators of hospital pharmacies and institutional pharmacies are not operators of pharmacies, for the purposes of any other Act or regulation, except,
(a) as may be explicitly provided for in the other Act or regulation, with reference to this section; or
(b) as may be provided for in regulations made under subsection (2).
Regulations
(2) The Lieutenant Governor in Council may make regulations,
(a) providing that hospital pharmacies are pharmacies for the purposes of one or more other Acts or regulations, and providing for those Acts or regulations;
(b) providing that institutional pharmacies are pharmacies for the purposes of one or more other Acts or regulations, and providing for those Acts or regulations;
(c) providing that operators of hospital pharmacies are operators of pharmacies for the purposes of one or more other Acts or regulations, and providing for those Acts or regulations;
(d) providing that operators of institutional pharmacies are operators of pharmacies for the purposes of one or more other Acts or regulations, and providing for those Acts or regulations;
(e) governing who is the operator of a hospital pharmacy or institutional pharmacy for the purposes of this section.
4. The Act is amended by adding the following section:
Contact person, hospital/institutional pharmacies
146.1 (1) Every hospital or institution in which a hospital pharmacy or an institutional pharmacy is operated shall designate a contact person for the hospital pharmacy or institutional pharmacy, and file notice of the designation with the College in accordance with the regulations.
One contact person or several
(2) For greater certainty, a hospital or institution may designate a different person as the contact person for every hospital pharmacy or institutional pharmacy for which it must designate a contact person, but is not obliged to do so.
5. (1) Subsection 161 (1) of the Act is amended by adding the following clauses:
(l.1) establishing one or more separate classes of certificates of accreditation with respect to pharmacies, hospital pharmacies or institutional pharmacies, setting terms, conditions and limitations with respect to such classes, and requiring compliance with those terms, conditions and limitations;
(l.2) respecting the operation of hospital pharmacies and clarifying the application to hospital pharmacies of the provisions set out in section 119;
(l.3) respecting the operation of institutional pharmacies and clarifying the application to institutional pharmacies of the provisions of this Act that apply to them by virtue of their designating regulations;
(2) Section 161 of the Act is amended by adding the following subsections:
Circulation
(5) A regulation shall not be made under subsection (1) unless the proposed regulation is circulated to every person who holds a valid certificate of accreditation at least 60 days before it is approved by the Council.
Same
(6) Subsection (5) does not apply to a regulation if the Minister required that the Council make the regulation under clause 5 (1) (c) of the Regulated Health Professions Act, 1991.
Exception
(7) Despite subsection (5), the Council may, with the approval of the Minister, exempt a regulation from the requirement that it be circulated or abridge the 60-day period referred to in subsection (5) to such lesser period as the Minister may determine.
6. Section 166 of the Act is amended by adding the following subsection:
Exception, hospital pharmacies
(3) A director of a corporation operating a hospital pharmacy is not liable for an offence by virtue of subsection (1), and may not be proceeded against under subsection (2).
7. The Act is amended by adding the following section:
Notice to Minister
166.1 Where the College or a committee of the College proposes to take action under section 140 or any other provision of this Act and the action will involve a hospital pharmacy or an institutional pharmacy, the College or committee shall,
(a) give notice of the proposed action to the Minister in writing before taking the action; and
(b) provide the Minister with any information the Minister requests with respect to the action.
Public Hospitals Act
8. Clause 33 (c) of the Public Hospitals Act is repealed and the following substituted:
(c) a physician resigns from a medical staff of a hospital or restricts his or her practice within a hospital and the administrator of the hospital has reasonable grounds to believe that the resignation or restriction, as the case may be, is related to the competence, negligence or conduct of the physician,
Regulated Health Professions Act, 1991
9. Subsection 5.0.1 (1) of the Regulated Health Professions Act, 1991 is repealed and the following substituted:
College supervisor
(1) The Lieutenant Governor in Council may appoint a person as a College supervisor, on the recommendation of the Minister, where the Minister considers it appropriate or necessary.
10. Clause 36 (1) (d) of the Act is repealed and the following substituted:
(d) as may be required for the administration of the Drug Interchangeability and Dispensing Fee Act, the Healing Arts Radiation Protection Act, the Health Insurance Act, the Health Protection and Promotion Act, the Independent Health Facilities Act, the Laboratory and Specimen Collection Centre Licensing Act, the Ontario Drug Benefit Act, the Coroners Act, the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act (Canada) and the Food and Drugs Act (Canada);
(d.1) for a prescribed purpose, to a public hospital that employs or provides privileges to a member of a College, where the College is investigating a complaint about that member or where the information was obtained by an investigator appointed pursuant to subsection 75 (1) or (2) of the Code, subject to the limitations, if any, provided for in regulations made under section 43;
(d.2) for a prescribed purpose, to a person other than a public hospital who belongs to a class provided for in regulations made under section 43, where a College is investigating a complaint about a member of the College or where the information was obtained by an investigator appointed pursuant to subsection 75 (1) or (2) of the Code, subject to the limitations, if any, provided for in the regulations;
11. Subsection 43 (1) of the Act is amended by adding the following clauses:
(g.1) prescribing purposes and providing for limitations for the purposes of clauses 36 (1) (d.1) and (d.2);
(g.2) providing for classes of persons for the purposes of clause 36 (1) (d.2);
12. Subsections 25 (5) and (6) of Schedule 2 to the Act are repealed and the following substituted:
Complainant to be informed
(5) The Registrar shall give a complainant notice of receipt of his or her complaint and a general explanation of the processes of the College, including the jurisdiction and role of the Inquiries, Complaints and Reports Committee and the power of the Registrar to make a determination that it is not reasonable to believe that the allegations contained in the complaint, if established, could constitute professional misconduct, incompetence or incapacity on the part of the member, together with a copy of the provisions of sections 28 to 29.
Notice to member
(6) Except where the Registrar makes a determination referred to in subsection (7), the Registrar shall give the member, within 30 days of receipt of the complaint or the report,
(a) notice of the complaint, together with a copy of the provisions of sections 28 to 29, or notice of the receipt of the report;
(b) a copy of the provisions of section 25.2; and
(c) a copy of all available prior decisions involving the member unless the decision was a determination under subsection (7) or a decision to take no further action under subsection (11) or under subsection 26 (5).
No selection of a panel
(7) Despite subsection (1), the chair of the Inquiries, Complaints and Reports Committee shall not select a panel of the Committee to investigate a complaint where the Registrar has determined that it is not reasonable to believe that the allegations contained in the complaint, if established, could constitute professional misconduct, incompetence or incapacity on the part of the member.
Notice
(8) Where the Registrar has made a determination referred to in subsection (7), the Registrar shall, within 30 days of having received the complaint, give the complainant and the member who is the subject of the complaint notice of the Registrar's determination.
Request for review by Inquiries, Complaints and Reports Committee
(9) Where, within 30 days of receiving notice under subsection (8), the complainant makes a request in writing to the Registrar seeking a review of the Registrar's determination, the chair of the Inquiries, Complaints and Reports Committee shall select a panel of the Committee to review the Registrar's determination.
Notice
(10) Where a panel of the Inquiries, Complaints and Reports Committee has been selected under subsection (9), the panel shall give the complainant and the member notice that a review has been requested.
What a panel may do
(11) A panel selected under subsection (9) may do one of the following:
1. Confirm the Registrar's determination under subsection (7), in which case no further action shall be taken by the Inquiries, Complaints and Reports Committee with respect to the complaint.
2. Refer the complaint to the chair to select another panel of the Inquiries, Complaints and Reports Committee, with different members, to investigate the complaint in accordance with subsections (1) to (4).
Notice to complainant and member
(12) A panel that has made a decision under subsection (11) shall give notice of the decision to the complainant and member within 14 days of making the decision.
Notice to member where reference to another panel
(13) Where a panel of the Inquiries, Complaints and Reports Committee has referred a complaint to the chair under paragraph 2 of subsection (11), the Registrar shall give the member, within 14 days of the complaint having been referred to the chair,
(a) notice of the complaint, together with a copy of the provisions of sections 28 to 29, or notice of the receipt of the report;
(b) a copy of the provisions of section 25.2; and
(c) a copy of all available prior decisions involving the member unless the decision was a determination under subsection (7) or a decision to take no further action under subsection (11) or under subsection 26 (5).
13. Subsection 25.2 (1) of Schedule 2 to the Act is amended by striking out "subsection 25 (6)" at the end and substituting "subsection 25 (6) or (13)".
14. Subsection 26 (2) of Schedule 2 to the Act is repealed and the following substituted:
Prior decisions
(2) A panel of the Inquiries, Complaints and Reports Committee shall, when investigating a complaint or considering a report currently before it, consider all of its available prior decisions involving the member, including decisions made when that committee was known as the Complaints Committee, and all available prior decisions involving the member of the Discipline Committee, the Fitness to Practise Committee and the Executive Committee, unless the decision was a determination by the Registrar under subsection 25 (7) or was a decision to take no further action under subsection (5) of this section or under subsection 25 (11).
15. Section 28 of Schedule 2 to the Act is amended by adding the following subsection:
Not affected by referral
(2.1) A referral to the chair under paragraph 2 of subsection 25 (11) does not affect the time requirements under this section.
16. Subsection 29 (2) of Schedule 2 to the Act is repealed and the following substituted:
Request for review
(2) The complainant or the member who is the subject of the complaint may request the Board to review a decision of a panel of the Inquiries, Complaints and Reports Committee unless,
(a) the decision was made under subsection 25 (11);
(b) the decision was to refer an allegation of professional misconduct or incompetence to the Discipline Committee; or
(c) the decision was to refer the member to a panel of the Inquiries, Complaints and Reports Committee under section 58 for incapacity proceedings.
17. Subsection 85.5 (2) of Schedule 2 to the Act is repealed and the following substituted:
Same
(2) Where a member resigns, or voluntarily relinquishes or restricts his or her privileges or practice, a person referred to in subsection (3) who has reasonable grounds to believe that the resignation, relinquishment or restriction, as the case may be, is related to the member's professional misconduct, incompetence or incapacity, shall file with the Registrar within 30 days after the resignation, relinquishment or restriction a written report setting out the grounds upon which the person's belief is based.
Commencement and Short Title
Commencement
18. This Act comes into force on a day to be named by proclamation of the Lieutenant Governor.
Short title
19. The short title of this Act is the Enhancing Patient Care and Pharmacy Safety (Statute Law Amendment) Act, 2013.
EXPLANATORY NOTE
The Drug and Pharmacies Regulation Act is amended to allow premises associated with hospitals and health and custodial institutions to be considered "pharmacies" for the purposes of certain provisions of the Act. Related amendments are also made.
The Public Hospitals Act is amended to require a hospital administrator to prepare and forward a detailed report to the College of Physicians and Surgeons where a physician resigns or restricts his or her practice and there is reason to believe the resignation or restriction is related to his or her competence, negligence or conduct.
The Regulated Health Professions Act, 1991 and the Health Professions Procedural Code are amended. Among the amendments:
1. The Lieutenant Governor in Council, upon the recommendation of the Minister of Health and Long-Term Care, may appoint a person as a supervisor of a health profession college where the Minister considers it to be appropriate or necessary to do so. The Bill removes the existing requirement that the Minister must additionally be of the opinion that the college's Council has failed to comply with a requirement previously issued to the college's Council by the Minister.
2. Additional exceptions are created to the existing duty of confidentiality under the Act, including,
i. for the purposes of administering the Health Protection and Promotion Act,
ii. where the disclosure is to a public hospital that employs or that provides privileges to a member of a college, where the college is investigating the member, subject to any limitations in the regulations,
iii. disclosure to additional classes of persons provided for in regulations, subject to any limitations to be prescribed in those regulations;
3. Procedures are put in place to deal with instances where the Registrar of a College determines that it is not reasonable to believe that the allegations contained in a complaint against a member could, if established, constitute professional misconduct, incompetence or incapacity on the part of the member.
4. The Health Professions Procedural Code is amended to provide that where a college member resigns, or voluntarily relinquishes or restricts his or her privileges or practice, a person such as an employer who has reasonable grounds to believe that the resignation, relinquishment or restriction, as the case may be, is related to the member's professional misconduct, incompetence or incapacity, shall file with the Registrar within 30 days after the resignation, relinquishment or restriction a written report setting out the grounds upon which the person's belief is based.