Should Manitoba pharmacists be allowed to prescribe virtually? Your college wants to know

If you’re a pharmacist in Manitoba, your college wants to know: when, if ever, should you be allowed to prescribe medication without seeing a patient in person?The College of Pharmacists of Manitoba has launched a 30-day public consultation on changes that would remove the current requirement for in-person communication when pharmacists prescribe medications. Under a newly proposed Virtual Care Practice Direction, pharmacists in the province would be allowed to use their professional judgment to determine whether virtual care is appropriate. “A blended care model, balancing in-person and virtual care, is required in the provision of virtual pharmacy care services, whenever and wherever possible,” the proposed practice direction states.The draft rules explicitly state that virtual care would not be appropriate if a patient requests in-person care or if a physical assessment is clinically necessary. Pharmacies offering virtual care would also need to adopt written policies outlining how to handle technology outages and protect patient privacy.In practice, the changes build on an existing exemption that already allows Extended Practice Pharmacists working in collaborative care settings to prescribe virtually when another regulated healthcare provider has already completed an in-person assessment for the same condition and followup care has been arranged when needed. “Although virtual care, including telephone prescribing assessments, provides an option for increased accessibility to healthcare services, it must be used/delivered in a supported manner to enhance and complement in-person patient care,” the college wrote in 2022.That year, the college had indefinitely extended the exemption “until a virtual care practice direction can be developed, approved and implemented or until such a time that the exemption is re-evaluated and repealed by Council.”In a notice to members, the college said the proposed changes are intended to support safe virtual care while improving access to pharmacy services.The college also said the consultation does not include rules related to cross-jurisdictional care or the remote supervision of pharmacy support staff—with a separate practice direction on such care still being developed.A full copy of the proposed rules can be read on the college’s website. Feedback can be submitted through the consultation form until June 21, 2026.

Should Manitoba pharmacists be allowed to prescribe virtually? Your college wants to know

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