Patient Safety

The U.S. patient should know the Canadian pharmacy’s name, address, phone number, license number, and province where the pharmacy is licensed. To be certain, go to VERIFY A CIPA MEMBER and enter the name of the pharmacy you are considering.

This information should be clearly identified on the web page, on registration forms or provided by affiliate U.S. organizations.

Deal with a CIPA pharmacy, but be aware that some use the CIPA seal fraudulently.

To ensure that the pharmacy is a legitimate Canadian pharmacy the patient can contact the provincial pharmacy regulatory agency. Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba

The provincial pharmacy regulatory agency sets standards of practice and regulates pharmacy from a patient safety perspective.

If contacting a regulatory agency, be sure the mention the filling pharmacy name that will be found on the CIPA member’s site.

A U.S. patient has the same rights as a Canadian patient to file a complaint with a provincial pharmacy regulatory agency.

The Canadian pharmacy should require a prescription from the patient’s U.S. physician.

The Canadian pharmacy should obtain both demographic and medical information from the U.S. patient.

The Canadian pharmacy should have a Canadian physician review patient information before authorizing a Canadian prescription.

The U.S. patient should have access to a Canadian pharmacist for the purpose of medication counseling and drug information.