9.1 Identifying Patients

General Policy Description

Pharmacists must take reasonable steps to identify a patient, patient’s representative, practitioner or pharmacist before providing pharmacy services.

Policy Details 

Requirements for confirming identity

As per section 36 of the Pharmacy Operations and Drug Scheduling Act (PODSA) bylaws (PDF, 258KB), pharmacists “must take reasonable steps to confirm the identity of a patient, patient's representative…before providing any pharmacy service that requires accessing, using or disclosing patient personal health information.”

The College of Pharmacists of BC (CPBC) Professional Practice Policy 54–Identifying Patients and Patient Representatives in Community Pharmacy and Telepharmacy Settings (PDF, 155KB) establishes that

• Pharmacists must ensure that only one PharmaNet patient record is created and maintained for each person and that only one Personal Health Number (PHN) is assigned to each person. By viewing and confirming appropriate identification documents, duplicate PHNs and patient records can be avoided.
• When a patient or patient’s representative is personally known to the pharmacist, the pharmacist may identify the patient or patient’s representative
• If the patient or patient’s representative is not known to the pharmacist, identification can be made by viewing one piece of primary identification or two pieces of secondary identification
• When a patient or patient's representative doesn't have primary or secondary identification, the pharmacist should use their professional judgement for identification and ensure these steps are documented

Primary identification

The CPBC Professional Practice Policy 54–Identifying Patients and Patient Representatives in Community Pharmacy and Telepharmacy Settings (PDF, 210KB) lists these examples of primary identification:

• Driver’s licence
• Passport
• BC Services Card
• Police identity card issued by the RCMP or municipality
• Secure Certificate of Indian Status or Certificate of Indian Status
• Permanent resident card issued by the Government of Canada

Secondary identification

The CPBC Professional Practice Policy 54 (PDF, 210KB) lists these examples of secondary identification:

• CareCard issued by the Province of B.C.
• Birth certificate 
• Canadian citizenship card 
• Record of landing of permanent residency
• Work/visitor/study permit issued by the Government of Canada
• Naturalization certificate 
• Marriage certificate 
• Change of name certificate 
• Identification or discharge certificate from Global Affairs Canada or Canadian Armed Forces 

Different identification requirements apply when managing patient protective words. (i.e., when applying, removing or changing a protective word on the patient’s own PharmaNet record).

Refer to Section 9.6 – Protective Words for details.

Protecting patient information from fraudulent use or identity theft

Pharmacies should report suspicious requests for pharmacy or client information to the PharmaCare Help Desk. They should refuse phone requests for such information if they cannot identify the caller.

HIBC never contacts pharmacies for pharmacist credentials or other identifying information. Such requests are often an attempt to obtain drugs illegally or commit identity theft. If someone calls a pharmacy claiming to be from PharmaCare, PharmaNet or HIBC, pharmacies should call the PharmaCare Help Desk to make sure the call is from them before engaging.

When you call the PharmaCare Help Desk, please be prepared to provide information to prove your identity. HIBC carefully screens callers to help prevent misuse of pharmacy or pharmacist information.

Tools and Resources

CPBC Professional Practice Policy 54—Identifying Patients and Patient Representatives in Community Pharmacy and Telepharmacy Settings (PDF, 178KB)

Section 9.6 – Protective Words