- The Ordre describes progressive integration, with suitable safety nets.
- The issues are space, consultation time, delegation, follow-up and documentation.
- It is acceptable not to offer everything at first and to refer patients.
Is this a compliance deadline?
No. December 9, 2026 is when these activities become possible. The Ordre invites each pharmacist to assess what they have mastered, plan their development and practise progressively. The AQPP also describes a gradual rollout.
Where will consultations take place?
The prescribing guide describes a closed space reserved for professional activities, quiet and confidential, well lit, large enough and accessible, with the necessary equipment, such as a computer and a printer. For many pharmacies, this is the first constraint to assess.
Who does what, and when?
The guide invites you to decide on dedicated slots or not, how to handle urgent and non-urgent requests, and how work is shared among pharmacists. It also asks you to think about tasks that could be delegated to technicians and assistants to free up clinical time. Our page for pharmacies details these decisions.
How to document and ensure follow-up
- Record the reasons for the decision, including a decision not to prescribe.
- Make the plan detailed enough for a colleague to take over.
- Give each follow-up a due date, items to monitor and a lead.
- Set clear criteria for referring the patient.
What about professional independence?
The guide asks you to recognize and reduce what may influence the decision to prescribe, such as performance indicators or financial incentives. It is worth reviewing your branch objectives from this angle, along with the advertising chapter of the Code of ethics if you advertise these services.
Where to start
Choose one or two starting activities, according to your competence and capacity, and prepare what the team will say about the others. Our free assessment helps you sort this out as a team.
Sources: OPQ, December 9: a gradual change, October 5, 2026 (in French) · OPQ, practice guide on prescribing (in French) · AQPP, annual congress, November 5, 2026 (in French) · Code of ethics of pharmacists, CQLR c. P-10, r. 7
General information based on the publications cited. This text does not replace professional or legal advice, or the Ordre’s guides.