Ontario
government is
proposing new
legislation to allow
hospital pharmacies to
be inspected and
licensed provincially
following an
investigation into
chemotherapy
overdilutions that
affected 1,202 patients.
In April, the Ontario
College of Pharmacists
said it was drafting
regulations to inspect
premises such as
Marchese Hospital
Solutions, which
prepared the
overdiluted chemotherapy IV bags. Hospitals weren't
aware that the bags contained extra saline.
When independent investigaor Jake Thiessen reviewed
overdiluted chemotherapy at four hospitals in Ontario
and one in New Brunswick this summer, he found all
levels of the drug chain had shortcomings. His
recommendations included:
Calling on Health Canada to regulate the companies
mixing chemotherapy for hospitals.
Introducing provincial legislation to give the
Ontario College of Pharmacists the power to inspect
and license hospital pharmacies, which the Ontario
government proposed on Thursday.
Adding more rigorous procurement processes for
Group Purchasing Organizations that work with
hospitals to reduce the cost of their health-care
supplies such as intravenous chemotherapy and
surgical masks.
If passed, the college's authority to inspect and license
community pharmacies would expand to include more
than 200 hospital pharmacies in the province.
Lori DeCou, manager of communications for the
Ontario College of Pharmacists, said hospital
pharmacies are a priority.
"It does give us an opportunity to have consistency
through our oversight into practice areas of
pharmacists so we welcome it," DeCou said.
Other provinces including British Columbia,
Newfoundland and Labrador, Prince Edward Island and
New Brunswick require their pharmacy regulators to
license and inspect hospital pharmacies.
government is
proposing new
legislation to allow
hospital pharmacies to
be inspected and
licensed provincially
following an
investigation into
chemotherapy
overdilutions that
affected 1,202 patients.
In April, the Ontario
College of Pharmacists
said it was drafting
regulations to inspect
premises such as
Marchese Hospital
Solutions, which
prepared the
overdiluted chemotherapy IV bags. Hospitals weren't
aware that the bags contained extra saline.
When independent investigaor Jake Thiessen reviewed
overdiluted chemotherapy at four hospitals in Ontario
and one in New Brunswick this summer, he found all
levels of the drug chain had shortcomings. His
recommendations included:
Calling on Health Canada to regulate the companies
mixing chemotherapy for hospitals.
Introducing provincial legislation to give the
Ontario College of Pharmacists the power to inspect
and license hospital pharmacies, which the Ontario
government proposed on Thursday.
Adding more rigorous procurement processes for
Group Purchasing Organizations that work with
hospitals to reduce the cost of their health-care
supplies such as intravenous chemotherapy and
surgical masks.
If passed, the college's authority to inspect and license
community pharmacies would expand to include more
than 200 hospital pharmacies in the province.
Lori DeCou, manager of communications for the
Ontario College of Pharmacists, said hospital
pharmacies are a priority.
"It does give us an opportunity to have consistency
through our oversight into practice areas of
pharmacists so we welcome it," DeCou said.
Other provinces including British Columbia,
Newfoundland and Labrador, Prince Edward Island and
New Brunswick require their pharmacy regulators to
license and inspect hospital pharmacies.
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