Prescription pad FAQ

EMR printer-friendly sheets are not bound in books; they are individual sheets designed to sit in a printer tray. Each prescriber will need to configure their site printer for the prescription output and add their name and CPSID on the sheets if not pre-printed.

EMR printer-friendly sheets are numerically tracked (folio numbers assigned under the ordering prescriber’s CPSID) and should always be stored securely. To report lost or stolen EMR printer-friendly sheets, follow these steps.

Wet signature

Once the prescription is printed, the prescriber must provide an authentic, handwritten signature on the prescription before issuing it to the patient to fill at a community pharmacy.

The prescriber copy must also be signed with an authentic, handwritten signature and must be securely retained and attached to the patient’s chart using a process that satisfies all regulatory requirements.

If the EMR has the capability to create an electronic signature, it must be either signed with an electronic pen, mouse or equivalent or use a digital image of a signature with unique identifiers such as a date stamp, time stamp, password protection. Otherwise, a traditional wet pen-to-paper physical signature in ink is still required.  

Prescriber responsibilities

Prescriber will be responsible for:

• Using secure printers with lockable trays
• Ensuring end-to-end chain of custody for the EMR printer-friendly sheets including, but not limited to, ordering, receiving, storage, access, delivery, and restocking printers
• Printer configuration
• Determining the process to account for lost/stolen forms and/or damaged and voided forms
• Retaining the signed prescriber copies and attaching them to the patient’s record
• Ensuring that EMR printer-friendly sheets are always stored securely

EMR printer-friendly sheets can only be ordered by a College registrant at each site with an active licence through their College account.

Each site is responsible for configuring its printer to accommodate EMR printer-friendly sheets. The College cannot assist in the set up.

The left side of the EMR printer-friendly sheet is the pharmacy copy.

The right side of the EMR printer-friendly sheet is the prescriber copy—to be retained and attached to the patient record. It is only necessary to retain one original medical record. If you are using an EMR, once the prescription has been scanned and saved to an EMR, it is not necessary to retain the original paper record. Physicians who are using paper charts should attach this copy to the patient’s paper chart.