Alberta has passed loads of new legislation—how will it impact your pharmacy practice?

After the most recent sitting of the Alberta provincial government, a number of new pieces of legislation have passed that will impact healthcare regulation and practice. The Alberta College of Pharmacists (ACP) has posted a reminder to its members about each piece of legislation and what they need to know. Indeed, so much legislation has popped up that the college is still reviewing some of the new laws to assess exactly how they will impact the its regulatory process and how pharmacists deliver care. Bill 9: Protecting Alberta’s Children Statutes Amendment Act, a controversial piece of legislation that used the notwithstanding clause to impact youth access to gender-affirming care, school pronoun policies and participation in sports, prohibits regulated ACP members from prescribing Schedule 1 drugs to a minor for hormone therapy. This includes puberty suppression and hormone replacement therapy for treatment of gender dysphoria or incongruence unless there’s a Ministerial Order allowing them to do so. More developments are likely coming, the ACP says, and the college will continue to monitor and update members on additional regulations or the process of Ministerial Orders. Bill 10: Red Tape Reduction Statutes Amendment Act will prohibit regulatory bodies from requiring Canadian work experience, or work experience tied to Canada, as a registration condition. At this time, the ACP says that it does not require Canadian work experience for registration, so no changes are planned. Bill 11: Health Statutes Amendment Act includes changes to a number of acts. One new change will restrict mandatory education requirements under a college’s continuing competence program. The ACP will review its requirements to ensure compliance to the new legislation within 18 months.Bill 13: Regulated Professions Neutrality Act will protect off-duty freedom of expression for regulated professionals in Alberta so regulators cannot discipline members for their opinions or expressions outside of work unless they involve threats of physical violence, boundary violations, misuse of a professional position, certain types of sexual conduct, improper or inappropriate communication with minors, or criminal convictions. The Bill also requires regulators remain neutral and not have preferential treatment based on specific characteristics like race, sex, religion or gender identity. Regulators are also prohibited from requiring mandatory education on training on certain matters. The Bill is not yet in force and the ACP is reviewing its internal processes so that it can be in compliance once it is enforced.

Alberta has passed loads of new legislation—how will it impact your pharmacy practice?

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