The pharmacy briefing

News & insight.

Canadian pharmacy and therapeutics news: recalls, shortages, guideline updates and developments in practice.

11 results
Medication Safety

Vitalité Shifts New Brunswick Dialysis Patients' Medication Pickup to Community Pharmacies

Vitalité Health Network has ended direct dispensing of dialysis-related medications at its Miramichi clinic, shifting roughly 550 patients to community pharmacies -- a change the network frames as a medication-safety improvement, but that has patients worried about new out-of-pocket costs.

Sep 14, 2026 · 3 min read Read briefing
Original editorial illustration created for this article.
Medication Safety

BC PharmaCare Flags Adhesion Problems With Menopausal Hormone Therapy Patches

BC's Ministry of Health says it is investigating reports that menopausal hormone therapy patches -- covered free under PharmaCare since March -- aren't sticking properly, and is giving pharmacists specific guidance on how to handle a loose patch and document a replacement.

Sep 14, 2026 · 3 min read Read briefing
Illustrative: a US-labelled estradiol transdermal patch product, not the Canadian product referenced in the BC notice. Photo: Erica-Schroeder, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sandoz_Estradiol_Transdermal_System,_estrogen_patch.jpg)
Medication Safety

U of T-Led BMJ Study Identifies 24 Prescribing Cascades Putting Older Adults at Risk

A BMJ study of 2.3 million Ontario seniors, led by University of Toronto and Sinai Health researchers, pinpoints 24 common "prescribing cascades" where one drug's side effect triggers an unneeded second prescription -- and calls for pharmacists to be more directly built into catching them.

Sep 13, 2026 · 4 min read Read briefing
Image: University of Toronto, Temerty Faculty of Medicine (press photo of Prof. Paula Rochon; temertymedicine.utoronto.ca/news/ontario-study-identifies-potentially-harmful-drug-combinations-prescribed-older-adults)
Medication Safety

Teva Canada Recalls Novo-Gesic Forte Acetaminophen Lot Over Possible Foreign Material Contamination

Health Canada and Teva Canada announced the recall of one lot of Novo-Gesic Forte 500 mg acetaminophen tablets after tests found the tablets may contain phenolic resin or epoxy particles capable of injuring the digestive tract.

Sep 12, 2026 · 3 min read Read briefing
Image: Health Canada, official recall notice (recalls-rappels.canada.ca/en/alert-recall/generic-acetaminophen-teva-recalled-because-it-may-contain-foreign-material)
Medication Safety

Health Canada Posts Two August Recalls of Dr. Reddy’s Semaglutide Injection: a Mislabelled Pen, Then an Impurity Across All Lots

Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories Canada recalled its Semaglutide Injection 1.34 mg/mL twice in August 2026: one lot containing a 4 mg pen labelled as 2 mg (August 12), then every lot of both DINs for an out-of-specification impurity (August 27). Community pharmacies holding the product should quarantine stock and contact patients dispensed the affected lots.

Sep 10, 2026 · 2 min read Read briefing
Illustrative injection pen; not the recalled product. Mr Hyde / Wikimedia Commons, public domain. Image source
Medication Safety

Health Canada Adds Pulmonary Aspiration Warning to All GLP-1 Receptor Agonist Product Monographs

Health Canada has completed a safety review linking GLP-1 receptor agonists — including semaglutide, tirzepatide, dulaglutide, liraglutide, and lixisenatide — to an increased risk of pulmonary aspiration during general anesthesia or deep sedation, and has updated the Canadian product monographs for the entire drug class. Community and hospital pharmacists are often the last clinician to see both the medication history and the upcoming procedure.

Apr 30, 2026 · 3 min read Read briefing
Illustrative perioperative care photo. National Cancer Institute / Unsplash. Image source
Medication Safety

ISMP Canada Bulletin: Near-Miss Oral Ingestion of a Boric Acid Vaginal Suppository Prompts Packaging Changes

A consumer nearly swallowed a boric acid vaginal suppository after mistaking the oral-look capsule for a vitamin, prompting ISMP Canada and manufacturer Szio+ Inc. to add explicit vaginal-use warnings to the Utiva Yeast Control packaging. Pharmacists selling this and similar non-prescription boric acid products need to counsel proactively, since these are self-selected products often sold without a pharmacist consult.

Feb 26, 2026 · 3 min read Read briefing
Illustrative medication packaging; not the product discussed. Brett Jordan / Unsplash. Image source
Medication Safety

Health Canada Recalls Two Lots of MAR-Amlodipine After Bottles Found to Contain Midodrine Tablets

Health Canada and Marcan Pharmaceuticals recalled two lots of MAR-Amlodipine 5 mg after some bottles were found to contain midodrine 2.5 mg tablets instead, a mix-up that could send a hypertensive patient's blood pressure dangerously higher or a hypotensive patient's dangerously lower. Community pharmacists need the exact lot numbers and tablet-appearance cues to check remaining stock and dispensed bottles.

Feb 7, 2026 · 2 min read Read briefing
Illustrative medications; not the recalled products. National Cancer Institute / Unsplash. Image source

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