Information Benefits

• Subscription to The Ontario Pharmacist magazine
• OPhA produces weekly information email blasts about the profession
• Pharmacists's Letter - includes CE
• RX Files - you must be an early bird member to access this (i.e. pay in advance of the annual membership deadline)

The Ontario College of Pharmacists requires all pharmacies in Ontario to have a subscription to a drug information service. The Drug Information and Research Centre (DIRC), owned and operated by the Ontario Pharmacists' Association, is an example of one of these. If the pharmacy does not have a subscription then individual pharmacists can purchase a subscription.

Information Benefits

• Call Centre - One source for all of your drug information questions. DIRC staff provide current, comprehensive, and credible drug information the moment it's needed. Subscribers have access to pharmacists by phone, fax, email, mail, or in person. The call centre is open 8:30am-5pm, Monday through Friday, EST. Messages received after business hours receive a response the following business day.
• Web access to Therapeutic Options - Drug-focused reviews of recent clinical practice guidelines
• New Drugs/Drug News - New drug reviews and evaluations; FAQs on drug-related topics; drug product comparisons
• eDIRC Bulletin - Links to online publications and drug advisories/warnings; summaries of drug-related media topics; information on upcoming OPA/DIRC educational programs

To answer subscriber questions, DIRC pharmacists working at the call centre have access to the following resources:

• Thousands of medical and pharmaceutical journals
• An extensive library of drug- and disease-related resources
• International and specialty references (e.g. foreign, veterinary, and alternative health references)
• Onsite databases and references on marketed and investigational drugs, disease and disease management, and pharmacy practice topics
• Subscription databases (e.g. Micromedex, International Pharmaceutical Abstracts, Reactions, OVID and PubMed)

Active membership is for pharmacists licensed to practice pharmacy in Canada and/or holding a professional degree in pharmacy from a school of pharmacy recognized by the Pharmacy Examining Board of Canada.

Three membership packages for Active members provide different levels of access to the CPhA's eTherapeutics+.

• Package 1 Membership only – perfect for members who receive access to CPhA products via group licences or other channels
• Package 2 Membership plus your choice of a copy of CPS or a one-year subscription to e-CPS
• Package 3 Membership plus a one-year subscription to e-Therapeutics⁺

Information Benefits

• Canadian Pharmacists Journal (CPJ) - free print subscription (students pay 50% subscription)
• Access to e-CPS or e-Therapeutics+ depending on membership package as described above
• PharmaCheck – a practice tool for medication review
• QUIT documentation and workflow tool for smoking cessation programs
• Special rates on CPhA products like CPS and e-Therapeutics+

The Ontario College of Pharmacists mandates that each pharmacy in Ontario has the following minimum library of resources available to the pharmacists working there.

Ontario College of Pharmacists and Ministry Publications

1. Professional Regulations (Provincial / Federal legislation )

• A list of current legislation can be found on the OCP website under “Laws and Regulations”

 2. Pharmacy Connection

• The latest six issues or Internet access to the OCP website.

 3. Drug Benefit Formulary/Comparative Drug Index Online

Required Reference Guide for Pharmacies in Ontario
(one from each category)

1. A Canadian Compendium

• Compendium of Pharmaceuticals and Specialties (CPS)
• Online subscription to eCPS

2. A Drug Interaction Publication

• Drug Interactions Analysis and Management, Hansten & Horn
• Drug Interaction Facts, David S. Tatro
• Evaluations of Drug Interactions, Zucchero & Hogan
• Online subscription to CPhA’s e-Therapeutics+
• A comparable pharmacy computer software program of the above texts: Lexi-Comp or Micromedex.

3. Pharmaco-Therapeutics Text

• Applied Therapeutics: The Clinical Use of Drugs
• Pharmacotherapy: A Pathophysiologic Approach
• Textbook of Therapeutics
• Therapeutic Choices
• Online subscription to CPhA’s e-Therapeutics+

4. A Dispensatory

• Martindale: The Complete Drug Reference
• DRUGPoints ® (formerly USPDI Vol. I) - online subscription only - DRUGPoints is part of the Micromedex collection of databases.

5. A Patient Counselling Guide

• PatientConnect™ Drug and Disease Information - online subscription only
• Detailed Drug Information for the Consumer (formerly USPDI Vol. II) - online subscription only - part of the Micromedex collection of databases.

6. Pediatric Dosing Reference Guide

• Pediatric Dosage Handbook
• The Hospital for Sick Children Handbook of Pediatrics

7. Handbooks of Non-Prescription Drugs

• Patient Self-Care
• Compendium of Self-Care Products

8. A Medical Dictionary

• Taber's Cyclopedic Medical Dictionary
• Mosby's Medical, Nursing and Allied Health Dictionary
• Stedman's Medical Dictionary

9. An Annual Subscription to a Drug Information Service