Complaints

To address concerns about the care received by a pharmacist or pharmacy technician (referred to as the “Pharmacy Professional”), speak with the Pharmacy Professional about your concerns while at the pharmacy or by scheduling a meeting to discuss it at a later date.

If you do not feel comfortable speaking with them directly, speak with the Pharmacy Manager named on the Certificate of Operation issued by the College or on the College’s website under “Find a Professional” / “Find a Pharmacy.” Pharmacy Managers are accountable to the College for all professional activities occurring within their pharmacy [section 20.2 of the Regulations].

If your concerns remain unaddressed, you can consider filing a complaint with the College against the Pharmacy Professional or Pharmacy (Pharmacy Manager).

The College can address complaints pertaining to concerns that a pharmacist or pharmacy technician registered to practice in New Brunswick:

• practiced inappropriately;
• failed to meet the requirements of the Act and its Regulations, the Standards of Practice, or the Code of Ethics;
• has medical, physical, psychological, or other condition(s) making them unfit, incapable, or unsafe to practise pharmacy; and/or
• pose a risk to the public as a result of poor pharmacy practice.

The College CANNOT address complaints pertaining to the following:

• another health-care professional;
• a pharmacist, pharmacy technician or pharmacy from another province;
• services not related to health care needs (for example, postal outlets, bill payments, etc.);
• fees charged for a service or medication;
• matters in which financial compensation is being sought;
• other financial issues; and/or
• labour relations matters.

To file a complaint, complete the following steps:

• Identify the pharmacy (its manager) or pharmacy professional (pharmacist or pharmacy technician) against whom this complaint is being filed. You can confirm the spelling of their name with the assistance of Find a Pharmacy or Find a Professional, located on the College’s website;
• Complete a Contact Information and Complaint Form for each pharmacy (its manager) or pharmacy professional (pharmacist or pharmacy technician) against whom a complaint is being filed;
• To file a complaint on behalf of another patient, provide a copy of the applicable legal documentation authorizing you to do so (for ex. Authorization, Power of Attorney, etc.);
• Complete all sections of the fillable PDF Contact Information and Complaint Form;
• Attach any supporting documents;
• Sign and date the form (a typed signature on the signature line at the bottom of the form will be accepted – a complaint may not be filed anonymously); and
• Email or mail the fully completed Contact Information and Complaint Form to the attention of the Administrator of Complaints (the “AoC”), whose contact information can be found at the end of the form.

If you encounter a problem with the online form or wish to receive a paper form via mail, please email info@nbpharmacists.ca. All complaints must be in writing [section 76(1)(a) of the Act]; no exceptions will be made to accept a complaint by telephone.

Upon receipt of the Contact Information and Complaint Form, the College will:

• acknowledge receipt by emailing the person who filed the complaint (known as the “Complainant”) at the email address provided; or
• if it is not fully completed, contact you to obtain the missing information.

The Contact Information and Complaint Form and any supporting document(s) filed with it is shared with the pharmacy manager or pharmacy professional (pharmacist or pharmacy technician) against whom the complaint was filed (referred to as the “Respondent”). They will be made aware of who filed the complaint, as complaints cannot be filed anonymously. They will have twenty-one (21) days to file a reply [section 78(1)(b) of the Act].

Upon receipt of the reply, it is shared with the Complainant, to provide them the opportunity to clarify and/or add information; they will have ten (10) days to reply further. If the Complainant replies further, it is shared with the Respondent to provide them the same opportunity to reply further. The opportunities to reply further are provided to both the Complainant and Respondent until there is no further information to clarify and/or add.

Once all complaint documentation (complaint, reply, subsequent replies and supporting documents, if applicable) is filed with the AoC, it is reviewed to inform the decision on how to proceed.

The decision options available to the AoC are listed in section 78(2) of the Act:

• investigate;
• settle;
• refer to the Complaints Committee;
• refer to the Discipline and Fitness to Practice Committee; or
• dismiss.

Investigate: investigations can include requesting and obtaining documentation and information and interviewing the person who filed the complaint (known as the “Complainant”) and the person against who the complaint is filed (known as the “Respondent”). All documentation obtained during the course of an investigation could be shared with a panel of the Complaints Committee or Discipline and Fitness to Practice Committee.

Settle or Dismissed: decisions to settle or dismiss are shared with the Complainant and the Respondent [section 78(4) of the Act]. A Complainant who is dissatisfied with the decision has thirty (30) days to request a review by a panel of the Complaints Committee.

The College is reviewing the complaints process in order to: 

• make it easier and more accessible to both members of the public and pharmacy professionals (the Complaints section on the College’s website was updated to include information on the process itself and a fillable PDF Complaint form);
• ensure transparency in the entire complaints process, including in the decision making; and
• ensure consistency between complaint files.

Click here to view the annual report of complaints. For previous years, please refer to the College Annual Reports.

A complaint can be referred to the Complaints Committee by the AoC [section 78(2)(c) of the Act] or at the request of a Complainant who is dissatisfied with the decision to dismiss or settle the complaint made by the AoC [section 78(3) of the Act]. All complaints and investigation documentation are shared with panels of the Complaints Committee for their review prior to the meeting [section 78(5) of the Act]. The Registrar can also refer matters to the Complaints Committee following the interim suspension of a pharmacy professional’s license [section 42(1)(b) of the Act] or of a pharmacy’s certificate of operation [section 66(1)(b) of the Act].

A complaint can be referred to the Discipline and Fitness to Practice Committee by the AoC [section 78(2)(d) of the Act] or the Complaint Committee [section 85(1)(f) of the Act]. The Registrar can also refer matters to the Discipline and Fitness to Practice Committee following the interim suspension of a pharmacy professional’s license [section 42(1)(b) of the Act].

The Council of the College (the “Council”) appoints a Complaints Committee consisting of pharmacy professionals and lay representatives [section 82(1) of the Act]. The Complaints Committee sits in panels of at least three (3), which includes one (1) lay representative and their decisions are made by a majority vote [section 83(1) of the Act].

Complaints Committee meetings are in private [section 104(2) of the Act]; however, the Complainant and/or the Respondent’s attendance could be requested [section 84 of the Act]. Some of the decisions that the Complaints Committee can make is to settle or dismiss a complaint, caution, counsel or censure the Respondent, or refer the matter to the AoC for further investigation or to the Discipline and Fitness to Practice Committee [section 85(1) of the Act]. Summaries of some matters are published on the College’s website:

• Complaints Committee – Pharmacist on the Direct Client Care Register: LINK
• Complaints Committee – Pharmacists on the Direct Client Care Register: LINK

The Council appoints a Discipline and Fitness to Practice Committee consisting of pharmacy professionals and lay representatives [section 91(1) of the Act]. The Discipline and Fitness to Practice Committee sit in panels of at least five (5), which includes one (1) lay representative and their decisions are made by a majority vote [section 91(4) of the Act].

Hearings of the Discipline and Fitness to Practice Committee are public [section 104(3) of the Act]. The Discipline and Fitness to Practice Committee hear and determines allegations of professional misconduct, incompetence or incapacity and matters referred to it following an interim suspension of a pharmacy professional's license or a pharmacy’s certificate of operation [section 92 of the Act].

Some of the decisions the Discipline and Fitness to Practice Committee can make is to dismiss a complaint, make an order or impose sanctions on the Respondent [section 99 of the Act]. Decisions of the Discipline and Fitness to Practice Committee are published on the Canadian Legal Information Institute (CanLII) website:

• Discipline & Fitness to Practice Committee – decisions published on CanLII: https://www.canlii.org/en/nb/nbcph/

Pharmacy professionals have an obligation to self-report themselves to the College in circumstances where:

• other regulatory bodies have:
  • an ongoing complaint or disciplinary matter, which can include an inquiry, an investigation, a proceeding, etc.;
  • made a disciplinary decision that did or could have resulted in:
    • a warning or a caution;
    • sanctions;
    • a settlement or an order of discipline with terms, conditions or limitations attached to their registration/license; or
    • a suspension or revocation of their registration/license;
  • found them guilty of an offence related to the practice of the profession and which did, or could have, led to criminal proceedings
• a court found them guilty of a criminal offence; or
• they know that they are incapacitated; failure to self-report and to continue to practice while knowing that they are incapacitated is considered professional misconduct [section 69(1) “professional misconduct” (j) of the Act].

The self-reporting should be done as soon as one of the above circumstances come into play or when completing their Annual Renewal form.

Pharmacy professionals have an obligation to report other pharmacy professionals to the College when:

• the regulations require that reports be filed with the College [section 14(2)(c) of the Act]
• there is a change of ownership or control of a pharmacy operation [section 18(f) of the Act];
• a pharmacy professional believes that another health-care professional sexually abused a patient [section 70 of the Act];
• employers:
  • terminate;
  • suspend the employment of a pharmacy professional; or
  • impose restrictions on their practice.
• for reasons of professional misconduct, incompetence or incapacity, or intended to do so but did not do so because the pharmacy professional resigned [section 71 of the Act];
• a pharmacy professional dissolved a partnership or association with another pharmacy professional for reasons of professional misconduct, incompetence, or incapacity [section 72(1) of the Act]; and
• a pharmacy professional believes that another pharmacy professional is suffering from a physical or mental condition or disorder of a nature or to an extent that the other pharmacy professional is unfit to continue to practice or that their practice or pharmacy operation should be restricted [section 72(2) of the Act].

It is considered professional misconduct for a pharmacy professional to fail to file a report with the College pertaining to another pharmacy professional when the above circumstances come into play [section 69(1) “professional misconduct” (i) of the Act].

Please contact the College to obtain further information on the Mandatory Reporting process.