Annual Registration and Licence Renewals
Registration Renewals
NLPB’s annual renewal period for registrants opens today, October 24, 2022. As this will be the first renewal period using the new NLPB Registrant Portal, please refer to the NLPB Registrant Portal User Guide – Renewing Registration for step-by-step instructions for successfully renewing through the online system.
As the online registrant portal was inaccessible for several months this year during the transition to the new system, NLPB will be extending the renewal period for pharmacists and pharmacy technicians by two additional weeks to allow registrants time to enter their required professional development activities prior to renewal. The deadline to renew your registration is Thursday, December 15, 2022. All continuing education units (CEUs) must be entered and all fees paid by that date.
Licence Renewals
Due to a technical bug in the Thentia Cloud system, both the launch of the Pharmacy Portal and the opening of the Pharmacy Licence Renewals have been delayed. The renewal period for pharmacies is now scheduled to begin on November 15, 2022. Pharmacists-in-charge will receive an email notification at the opening of renewals, which will include a complete guide to renewing the pharmacy licence through the online system. Please note, the pharmacist-in-charge must first renew their registration before renewing the pharmacy licence.
Before renewing, pharmacists-in-charge should ensure they have a current list of all owners (including profession, mailing address, phone number, and email address) and a list of all registered and non-registered staff members (including pharmacy assistants and clerks).
The deadline to renew the pharmacy licence is Thursday, December 15, 2022.
The pharmacist-in-charge is responsible for ensuring the licence has been renewed for 2023 and all regulated staff is registered to practice in 2023 before the end of the year.
Please note: Registration is not complete until all fees are paid. Please refer to the 2023 Schedule of Fees for a list of applicable fees.
Logging in to the New Registrant Portal
All registrants should have received an email containing their login information and instructions for accessing the registrant portal on Thursday, September 22, 2022. If you are currently an NLPB registrant and have not yet received your login information for the new registrant portal, please first check your Junk Mail folder before contacting registration@nlpb.ca for assistance.
To access the portal please visit: https://nlpb.portalca.thentiacloud.net/webs/portal/service/#/login
Registrants are reminded that they must use the email address identified in the login information email to access the system. If logging into the system for the first time, click the Forgot Password button and enter your email address to have a new temporary password sent to you. Follow the instructions in the email to access the system.
Once logged into the NLPB Registrant Portal, registrants will be asked to create a new password and security questions. Please note that both passwords and security questions are case-sensitive.
When logged into the NLPB Registrant Portal, please be advised that, for security purposes, the system will automatically log you out of the portal after 15 minutes of inactivity. The system does not recognize when a registrant is typing in a field, so if more than 15 minutes are spent typing in a single field, the information will not be successfully saved.
Recording Professional Development Activities in the Registrant Portal
All registrants are required to complete 15 CEUs between December 1, 2021 and November 30, 2022 to be eligible to renew their annual registration. A minimum of 7.5 CEUs must be accredited and the remaining may be either accredited or self-assigned.
To record your completed professional development activities in the registrant portal, follow the steps outlined in the NLPB Registrant Portal User Guide – Adding Professional Development Activities.
To assist registrants in adjusting to the 15-minute inactivity session timeout security feature, below are some tips for recording and successfully submitting learning activities.
- Save supporting documents in a dedicated location on your device so they are easy to find when you are ready to upload the files.
- Have your notes on hand when you are recording learning activities in the registrant portal.
- Make notes in a document on your computer so you can copy and paste the information into the online form in the registrant portal.
- When creating a new record, first upload the supporting document, enter the Program Title, insert placeholder text (i.e. TBD), and click Save to ensure the new record is successfully created. You can update the record again at any time.
- Make sure the learning objectives/description and key learnings & integration into practice are concise.
- Registrants can also upload a copy of the completed Learning Activity Notes form (available on our website at https://staging.nlpb.ca/quality-assurance/professional-development/) as a supporting document and reference the information by entering “See attached” in the Learning Objectives/Description of Activity and Key Learnings & Integration into Practice fields.
Please note, when submitting documents digitally, please ensure your submissions adhere to the NLPB Scanning Guidelines and Checklist for Document Submissions Policy.
Professional development records from our previous registration system have been transferred over to the new Registrant Portal. If you have already recorded learning activities for the 2022 Professional Development (PD) Year, these records will be listed under Learning Activities for the current PD year in the new portal. However, the transferred records have not yet been fully formatted. Please be assured that the correct number of education credits and related documentation has been retained by NLPB. Registrants are not required to reformat this information; it will be reformatted at a later date.
| Documenting CEs
Service as a Preceptor PEBC Examination
For more information on documenting PEBC Examinations visit the PD FAQ – Special Situations on the NLPB website. For more information on documenting CEs, please review the Professional Development Requirements for Pharmacists and Pharmacy Technicians Interpretation Guide. |
Inviting Feedback on Strategic Direction
Reminder to registrants that NLPB is currently seeking feedback to prepare for a strategic planning session taking place at the end of November, in which the board of directors will re-evaluate NLPB’s current goals and objectives and provide direction for NLPB’s work over the next 3-5 years.
NLPB recognizes the vital importance of giving pharmacy professionals a voice in the development of a strategic plan that will guide the profession forward in the best interest of the public it serves. As such, we are asking you to help us identify ways that NLPB can promote access to safe and quality pharmacy care to support the public and the healthcare system that serves them.
We invite you to provide your feedback by answering a few brief questions, which can be accessed by clicking the link below.
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/K7CPXJD
When providing feedback, please consider NLPB’s mandate for public protection, its vision and mission, and its core values of accountability, collaboration, integrity, respect, and transparency.
All feedback provided will be collected anonymously by our external strategic planning facilitator, Lynn Morrissey, who will compile the feedback and present it to NLPB. If you have any questions, you can contact Lynn at 709.687.2000 or lynnm@mun.ca.
The deadline for you to provide your feedback is November 3, 2022.
We look forward to receiving your feedback.
Student and Intern Administration of Injections
Due to recent inquiries, NLPB would like to provide clarification regarding the ability of pharmacy students and interns to administer injections. While pharmacy students and interns may not be independently authorized to administer injections, they are permitted to participate in this practice in the interests of learning, in accordance with NLPB policy, if the following conditions are met:
- The student or intern must be registered with the NLPB.
- The student or intern must have successfully completed an education and training program on the administration of injections that has received CCCEP accreditation or ALL of the education and training on the administration of injections provided as part of the pharmacy program curriculum.
- The student or intern must have current certification in CPR and First Aid from a recognized provider.
- The student or intern must be under the direct supervision of a pharmacist who has received authorization from the NLPB to administer drug therapy by inhalation or injection.
When providing direct supervision, the supervising pharmacist must be present when the activity is being performed and able to observe and promptly intervene to stop or change the actions of the individual being supervised. The supervising pharmacist is responsible and accountable for all components of the preparation and administration of the inhalants and injections, as well as ensuring the student or intern has met all NLPB requirements to administer inhalants and injections.
Additional Resources:
Administration of Drug Therapy by Inhalation or Injection Regulations
NLPB Standards of Practice – Administration of Drug Therapy by Inhalation or Injection
NLPB Policy – Pharmacy Students/Interns Administering Inhalations or Injections
Compounding Standards Deadlines – December 31, 2022
Registrants are reminded that the final implementation deadlines for the Compounding Standards are fast approaching – December 31, 2022. Pharmacists-in-charge must ensure that all the requirements of Phase 3 are met by that date, including:
- Non-Sterile Compounding
- Meeting all the requirements of Phases 1 and 2
- Completing the development of a quality assurance program
- Meeting all Level B and C requirements, as necessary
- Sterile Compounding
- Meeting all the requirements of Phases 1 and 2
- Completing the development of a quality assurance program
- Completing any necessary facility upgrades
Please see the Spring 2022 issue of The Apothecary for a detailed walk-through of the implementation of these two Standards of Practice.
Children’s Pain Reliever Shortage Update
Since earlier this year, supplies of various formats of non-prescription pediatric/infant and children’s acetaminophen and ibuprofen products have been limited in retail and pharmacy locations and hospitals across Canada. This shortage is due to unprecedented global demand, and even with ramped-up production, suppliers are unable to meet the needs.
The National Association of Pharmacy Regulatory Authorities (NAPRA), Health Canada, and manufacturers of these products have been in discussions on a biweekly basis over the duration of the shortage to discuss the situation and identify appropriate mitigation strategies.
If your pharmacy is experiencing a shortage of these medications, and you are approached about alternative options, pharmacists should use their clinical knowledge and professional judgment to assess each patient and advise on appropriate alternatives based on the individual circumstances. This may include recommending nonpharmacological options or advising on the appropriate use of chewable tablets or suppositories, or cutting or crushing a regular (adult) tablet. If you are asked to compound a solution or suspension, remember that you must only do so in accordance with the Standards for Pharmacy Compounding of Non-Sterile Preparations.
Health Canada has released the following statement and public advisory relating to the situation.
- Statement – Update on Supply of Children’s Acetaminophen and Ibuprofen Products
- Public advisory – Children’s ibuprofen/acetaminophen shortage: What you should know and do
NLPB’s Public Register
The Public Register is currently available by download only.
As NLPB moves to a new registrant portal, the current registrant portal from which the Public Register is generated is currently not accessible. As such, the register will be updated manually as registrant or licensee information changes. The date of the last update can be viewed above the links to each section of the register on the website. Should you have any questions or need further clarification regarding NLPB registrants and/or licensed pharmacies, please contact us at inforx@nlpb.ca.
Fall 2022 Issue of The Apothecary Published
Registrants are advised to view the latest issue of the NLPB Newsletter, The Apothecary, for updates on a number of issues, including:
- The approval of revisions to the Standards of Pharmacy Operation — Community Pharmacy, with a final implementation deadline of September 2023. Pharmacists-in-charge, pharmacists, and pharmacy technicians should review the standards in their entirety at their earliest convenience.
- The registrant audit plan and schedule for 2023.
- Tips and tricks for getting the most from a virtual community pharmacy practice site assessment.
Regular reminders
- Registrant Contact Information – Registrants are responsible for ensuring that the contact information on their registrant profile, including email address and practice site, is accurate at all times. The NLPB primarily uses email communication to send newsletters, renewal reminders, practice site assessment information, professional development audit information, calls for interest for committees, and other alerts. If the email address on file is incorrect, important information may be missed and/or disclosed to the wrong person. If your contact information changes, please log into the NLPB Online Registrant Portal to update your file with your new contact information as soon as you can.
- Application Submission –NLPB receives many applications for processing. Unfortunately, some of the applications submitted are illegible, incomplete, or missing supporting documentation or payment, leading to delays in processing and approving the application. In order to ensure that your application is processed in a timely manner, please take a moment before submission to ensure that all fields are completed and legible and that all supporting documentation is included. These small steps will help improve the process for both the applicant and NLPB.
This e-newsletter contains information on a wide variety of topics intended to enhance the practice of pharmacy in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador. As it is published and circulated to all registrants on a monthly basis, it is the expectation of NLPB that all registrants are aware of the matters contained therein.