Ontario pharmacy complaints rose nearly 30% last year. OCP says more analysis is needed to draw any conclusions

Complaints against Ontario pharmacists and pharmacy technicians increased by nearly 30% last year, but the Ontario College of Pharmacists says it has not analyzed the reasons behind the rise. One legal expert says it may be linked to pharmacists' expanding scope of practice.According to the college’s recently published 2025 annual report, the regulator received 702 complaints last year, up 29.3% from 543 the previous year. Reports opened by the college fell to 117 from 156, a 25% decrease. In a statement emailed to the Canadian Healthcare Network, OCP spokesperson Charlotte Burchett Wong cautioned against attributing the increase to any single factor.“To comment with certainty and without speculation on whether or to what extent volumes reflect, or are resulting from, any emerging issues and/or changes in scope of practice, or even increased public awareness, would require a comprehensive analysis of our data along with additional research which has not been performed at this time,” said the spokesperson. She noted that complaints involve a range of issues, including dispensing errors, vaccination administration and minor ailment prescribing. She added that communication-related concerns have consistently been among the leading reasons patients file complaints. Under Ontario law, every formal complaint received by the college must be investigated. Reports, meanwhile, are different. They may originate from anonymous concerns, and the college has discretion over whether to open an investigation.According to Ontario’s Regulated Health Professions Act, 1991, reports are opened when the “registrar believes on reasonable and probable grounds that the member has committed an act of professional misconduct or is incompetent and the Inquiries, Complaints and Reports Committee approves of the appointment.”“It is important to distinguish between complaints and reports,” said Burchett Wong. “They are not the same, though both are ways to share a concern about the care or services provided by a pharmacist, pharmacy technician, or pharmacy in Ontario. There is no correlation between the number of complaints and reports opened.”Aly Háji, founder of RxLaw, a health law and strategy firm that represents healthcare professionals, said the increase in complaints might reflect the profession's expanding clinical role rather than a decline in the quality of care.“This is more a story of pharmacy care becoming more expansive and broad, rather than pharmacy care becoming worse,” Háji said. “I think it's just the volume. As interactions increase, opportunities for complaints increase.” In the past six years, Ontario pharmacists have steadily taken on more patient care responsibilities, including assessing and prescribing for more minor ailments and administering more vaccines. They remain on track to gain another round of expanded responsibilities in early 2027. Háji said that broader scope has created more situations where pharmacists must exercise clinical judgment, including deciding when a patient's condition falls outside what they can safely manage. He said his firm has handled multiple cases involving patients who complained after pharmacists declined to prescribe medication because they believed it was outside their scope of practice.“I don't think it would be correct to say that this relates to the quality of care at all,” he said. “I think it's just the volume.” Despite the increase in complaints, the number of registrants with allegations referred to discipline has remained relatively stable, rising from 12 in 2024 to 13 in 2025. Háji said that distinction is significant.“I think the surge in complaints alongside the disciplinary decisions . . . does show that it is related to this phenomenon of minor ailments and the expanded scope of practice just leading to more patient interactions that spur on complaints,” he said. “I don't think you can say that practice is deteriorating or pharmacists are any worse overall simply because of the complaints.” The Canadian Pharmacists Association also cautioned against drawing conclusions about the year-over-year increase.“We can't comment on the specifics of complaints before the college or speculate on the reasons for year-over-year changes in complaint volumes without a fuller understanding of the factors driving those trends,” said Sadaf Faisal, the association's chief pharmacist officer, in a statement to CHN. Faisal said public awareness has become increasingly important as pharmacists continue to provide more clinical services across Canada.“Pharmacists are providing more clinical services than ever before, and their role within Canada's health care system continues to expand,” she said. “Because pharmacists' scope of practice varies across provinces and territories, it's important that Canadians understand the services available in their communities and the value pharmacists bring to patient care.” Háji expects complaints to remain elevated as both pharmacists and patients continue adapting to the profession's expanding role.“Pharmacists are taking on a new role in the healthcare system almost,” he said. “It's a good thing. But I think that shift takes time to get used to for all parties involved.”

Ontario pharmacy complaints rose nearly 30% last year. OCP says more analysis is needed to draw any conclusions

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