Leader staff
On June 15, Albertan pharmacies can fill 100-day prescriptions, not just 30 days as has been the rule since March, says a June 10 Alberta government media release. The 30-day limit was imposed to ensure that there were enough drugs to go around during the COVID-19 pandemic.
This measure and the changes in the COVID-19 situation have improved the supply of drugs, the release says.
The Alberta College of Pharmacy and the Alberta Pharmacists’ Association encourage pharmacists and pharmacy technicians to begin to fill prescriptions as normal, which is up to a 100 day supply.
In the release, Margaret Wing, CEO of the Alberta Pharmacists’ Association says, “the temporary 30-day medication supply recommendation has certainly helped to stabilize the majority of the drug supply chain.
“While we understand that some medication shortages continue to exist for certain medications, we are confident that pharmacists will be able to transition patients back to receiving three-month supplies for the majority of their medications where appropriate.”
Since there are still shortages of some medications, pharmacists are asked to use their professional judgement and only fill 30-day supplies when there is a shortage. A list of drugs with shortages is available on the Drug Shortages Canada website.
Supply levels are being monitored. The limit could be reintroduced if supply become dangerously low again.
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