Changes to the AIMS program are coming in 2027. But what do Ontario pharmacists need to do now?

Beginning next year, the Ontario College of Pharmacists (OCP) will be making changes in its Assurance and Improvement in Medication Safety (AIMS) program. AIMS is a mandatory standard for medication safety that all pharmacies in the province must follow to ensure continuous quality improvements, avoid medication incidents and prevent patient harm. The changes will come into effect on Jan. 1, 2027.Info from the OCP notes these changes are informed by the national best practices and align with the National Association of Pharmacy Regulatory Authorities’ model for continuous quality improvement and medication incident reporting.With changes ahead, the OCP is reminding pharmacists what they can do this year to prepare for the new requirements—laying out a number of action points. First, pharmacists should continue to meet the core requirements of AIM, including reporting, documenting, analyzing and sharing learnings about any incidents or near misses. Pharmacies who don’t have incident management platforms can record incidents using the template from the OCP website. Next, pharmacists should review the incident management platforms that are available to them and sign up with one before Jan. 1, 2027. They can pick any platform as long as it can contribute to the National Incident Data Repository and meet OCP’s criteria. Pharmacies will also need to cover their own costs for the platform, though the college will cover costs to submit data. Finally, in 2026, pharmacists can review the updated supplemental standard of practice and understand the new requirements. These updates were approved by the Board at the December 2025 meeting and will take effect Jan. 1, 2027. Updates include mandatory unique logins for registered pharmacy staff at their primary place of practice (excluding occasional and relief staff), completion of a safety self-assessment every two years and continuous quality improvement meetings at least once a quarter.

Changes to the AIMS program are coming in 2027. But what do Ontario pharmacists need to do now?

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