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Pharmacies mandate time-delayed safes

Community drug stores across Alberta are now required to use time-delayed safes in an effort to protect staff and patients, and to help ensure drug supply security, the Alberta College of Pharmacy (ACP) said Monday.
Oxycodone opioid pill
Prescription pills containing oxycodone and acetaminophen are shown in Toronto, Nov. 5, 2017.

Community drug stores across Alberta are now required to use time-delayed safes in an effort to protect staff and patients, and to help ensure drug supply security, the Alberta College of Pharmacy (ACP) said Monday.

The safes will be used to store narcotics and other high-risk drugs.

The ACP updated its Standards for the Operation of Licensed Pharmacies in January to include the new requirement, which has now been met by most pharmacies in the province, ACP spokesperson Brad Strader told Great West Media.

“We gave pharmacies a few months to get them installed, to make it all happen, so most pharmacies do have them installed now and within the next few weeks there will be full compliance across the province,” said Strader.

Individual pharmacy owners will be picking up the cost of the safes, he said. The new requirement is for community pharmacies, which are open to the public, as opposed to hospital pharmacies.

The new requirement follows extensive consultations with law enforcement in response to a significant increase in pharmacy robberies in the province, ACP president Peter Macek said in a press release.

“These incidents can be terrifying for pharmacy team members and the public, many of whom suffer physical and emotional trauma during an armed robbery,” Macek said.

“In many instances, a significant amount of violence has been used by the perpetrators, an pharmacy team members have reported being bound, threatened with weapons an physically assaulted.

“We’re hopeful that the requirement of using time-delayed safes, combined with other security efforts, will help prevent robberies and make pharmacies and our communities safe.”

Pharmacies across the province will be posting signage at all external entrances and at pharmacy counters advertising the use of the time-delayed safes.

The ACP is also encouraging pharmacy owners to take additional security measures, including video surveillance systems, alarm systems and limiting the amount of narcotics and other high-risk drugs in stock at their respective facilities.

The ACP worked with RCMP, the Alberta Pharmacists’ Association working group, Calgary and Edmonton police services and other stakeholders to help address the recent spike in robberies.

Michael McCauley is the officer-in-charge of engagement and outreach for the Alberta RCMP.

“By bringing together the expertise of the province’s major police forces, the pharmacy working group continues to work towards ensuring the safety of Alberta’s pharmacy staff and their patients,” said McCauley.

Responsible for pharmacy practice in Alberta, the ACP’s activities are governed by the Health Professions Act, which dictates responsibilities related to licence, practice review and complaint resolution, according to its website.

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