Performance Expectations

The dental hygienist must… 

1. Complete a College-approved education or training program in preparation for prescribing any Schedule 1 drug listed in section 8(d) of the Health Professions Restricted Activity Regulation.
2. Apply for and receive approval from the College prior to prescribing any Schedule 1 drug listed in section 8(d) of the Health Professions Restricted Activity Regulation. 
3. Prescribe in accordance with current provincial and federal legislative requirements and standards.  
4. Comply with the regulations and policies that enable the dental hygienist to prescribe. 
5. Prescribe only those Schedule 1 drugs listed in section 8(d) of the Health Professions Restricted Activity Regulation. 
6. Only prescribe a Schedule 1 drug for an individual with whom the dental hygienist has a clinical therapy relationship to: 
1. Treat an oral health condition that the dental hygienist is competent to diagnose and manage; and 
2. Aid in the achievement of the patient’s oral health goals. 
7. Only prescribe for a patient when they have personally performed an appropriate patient assessment, including consideration of the patient’s: 
1. Medical history;  
2. Medication history;  
3. Current health status; and 
4. Individual circumstances. 
8. Not prescribe drugs for a family member or anyone else with whom they have a close personal relationship except for minor conditions, in an emergency, or when another prescriber is not readily available to prescribe the drug. 
9. Not prescribe for themselves. 
10. Use evidence-informed best practice guidelines and resources when prescribing Schedule 1 drugs. The dental hygienist must only prescribe a drug for an indication that is either: 
1. Approved by Health Canada;  
2. Considered a best practice or accepted clinical practice based on peer-reviewed literature; or 
3. Part of an approved research protocol. 
11. Select drug therapy based on knowledge of pharmacotherapy and consideration of factors, including, but not limited to: 
1. Expected action or therapeutic outcome; 
2. Recommended dosage and dosage adjustment for specific patients; 
3. Common or serious adverse effects; 
4. Drug interactions; 
5. Patient’s oral health goals; and 
6. Patient-specific factors such as age, weight, gender, culture, medical conditions, concurrent drugs, and drug allergies. 
12. Provide information to enable the patient to receive the intended benefit of the drug therapy. This includes but is not limited to: 
1. Possible side effects and when to report; and 
2. Administration instructions and possible drug or food interactions, if applicable. 
13. Record the prescribing decisions made in the patient’s record, including the following: 
1. The date the drug was prescribed; 
2. The name, strength, dose, and dosage form of the drug prescribed; 
3. The quantity of the drug prescribed; 
4. The indication for the prescribing decision; 
5. The goal of the prescribed therapy; 
6. Instructions given to the patient; 
7. Any follow-up required to evaluate the patient’s response; and 
8. Identification of the dental hygienist who prescribed. 
14. Take responsibility for the prescribing decision. This includes but is not limited to: 
1. Monitoring, documenting, and evaluating the patient’s response to the prescribed drug therapy and following up or adjusting as appropriate; and 
2. Notifying those health professionals whose care of the patient may be impacted by the prescribing decision. 
15. Issue prescriptions that are legible, accurate, and complete. To be complete: 
1. Written prescriptions must include the following legal requirements: 
1. Name and address of the patient; 
2. Date the prescription is issued; 
3. Drug name; 
4. Drug strength, dose, and dosage form, if applicable; 
5. Dosage, if applicable; 
6. Route of administration, if applicable; 
7. Quantity of drug to be provided; 
8. Directions for use; 
9. Number of refills authorized and interval between each refill, if applicable; 
10. Prescriber’s name and phone number; and 
11. Prescriber’s signature. 
2. Computer-generated prescriptions must include the handwritten signature of the prescriber or utilize an electronic signature that is hand-initialed by the prescriber. 
16. Only issue prescriptions verbally when it is not possible to issue a written prescription to the patient or transmit the prescription directly to a pharmacy. 
17. Ensure prescriptions transmitted to a pharmacy are transmitted in a manner that ensures patient confidentiality, authenticity, validity, and security of the prescription.  
18. Ensure that when prescriptions are transmitted by facsimile (fax): 
1. The prescription is sent directly from a secure fax machine to a single pharmacy acceptable to the patient; 
2. The prescriber is available and can verify the source of the faxed prescription for the pharmacist, if required; 
3. In addition to all the legal requirements of a complete prescription, the transmission includes: 
1. The prescriber’s address, fax number, and phone number; 
2. The time and date of the fax transmission; 
3. The name and fax number of the pharmacy intended to receive the transmission; 
4. An indication that the prescription represents the original of the prescription drug order; 
5. An indication that the addressee is the only intended recipient and there are no others; 
6. An indication that the original prescription will be invalidated and securely filed; and 
7. An indication that the original prescription will not be transmitted elsewhere at another time. 
4. Pre-printed fax forms do not reference a pharmacy, pharmacist, pharmaceutical manufacturer, distributor, agent, or broker. 
19. Only transmit prescriptions via an online platform if the system meets or exceeds legal requirements in Alberta for online transmission.  

Patient Expectations

The patient can expect that the prescribing dental hygienist is knowledgeable and works with the patient to ensure the prescribed drug is a safe and appropriate choice for treating an oral health condition.