'I will take them to court': Alberta pharmacists needled by proposed change banning them from injecting for cosmetic reasons

A change to Alberta practice standards that prohibits pharmacists from administering injections for cosmetic purposes has needled practitioners who have built businesses on esthetic services, including one who is ready to mount a legal challenge if the proposed change goes through. On July 12, the Alberta College of Pharmacists (ACP) closed consultations on its draft standards of practice for pharmacists and pharmacy technicians. According to a post on the college website, the proposed revisions were guided by a set of principles focused on ensuring pharmacy practice is centred on the patient rather than on prescriptions, provide clear differentiations between the roles of pharmacists and pharmacy technicians, consider innovation and new models of practice, and define the outer boundary of pharmacy practice. The latter, as it pertains to keeping injections for cosmetic purposes out-of-bounds for the profession, is a sticking point for some pharmacists. “If we can show that we can administer cosmetic injections properly, it doesn’t make sense for patients to relinquish their ability to access these services from a practitioner they trust,” Phil Wong, a pharmacist and owner of Calgary-based Arlo Medical Injections, told Pharmacy Practice + Business. “For myself, this has been a significant investment—I set up a whole clinic for Botox injections and dermal fillers. If we were forced to shut down, I don’t know what will happen.” Kamal Alhallak, pharmacist owner of Albany Cosmetic and Laser Centre in Edmonton and founder of the Alberta Cosmetic Pharmacist Association, has a plan of action in the event the college implements this particular change to the standard. “I will take them to court,” he said. “I’m not talking on behalf of myself. Right now, I’m talking on behalf of the Alberta Cosmetic Pharmacists Association, which has a membership of about 40 pharmacists.” Alhallak launched a Change.org campaign on May 31, asking for support in opposing the proposed ban. By mid-July, the petition had close to 750 signatures, with more than 400 from pharmacists, said Alhallak. Read: Saskatchewan lays down the law on Botox injections in pharmacy If the proposed change does go through, Alberta will join the majority of provinces and territories that explicitly prohibit pharmacists from injecting for cosmetic purposes. Recently, the Saskatchewan College of Pharmacy Professionals updated its guidelines to definitively state that the province’s pharmacists are not authorized to inject Botox and dermal fillers for cosmetic or medical reasons. Yet there appears to be strong support for cosmetic injections by pharmacists. Indeed, about 70% of respondents to a poll of pharmacists conducted recently by Pharmacy Practice + Business believe they and their colleagues should be allowed to administer Botox and dermal fillers. A third said pharmacists should stay out of the beauty business and focus only on what they were trained to do in pharmacy school. Alhallak said he sent a letter to the college as far back as 2019 requesting a regulatory framework be created for pharmacists who want to administer cosmetic injections such as Botox and dermal fillers. The letter suggested working with the Alberta colleges for physicians and nurses, to tap into their experience with setting rules for doctors and nurses who are injecting for cosmetic purposes. “But (the college registrar) doesn’t reply back,” said Alhallak. Read: Pairing aesthetics and pharmacy Based on the Health Professions Act, pharmacists should be allowed to inject Botox and dermal fillers for cosmetic reasons, he added. The problem is the college has not interpreted the Act correctly. “If you look at our practice goals (in the Act), they are exactly the same as nurses and physicians,” said Alhallak. “So why is it that nurses, physicians and dentists can do it and we can’t?” The college has declined to comment, for now, on this story, stating that feedback from the draft standards consultation still needs to be analyzed by the college council “for any potential amendments” to the existing standards. “Once council has considered the feedback, ACP will be in a better position to comment more fulsomely,” wrote Jenna Altrogge, communications advisor at the college. Matt Tachuk, director of pharmacy practice at the Alberta Pharmacists’ Association, told Pharmacy Practice + Business that the association has provided feedback directly to the college. This feedback included a suggestion—as an alternative to restricting cosmetic injections entirely—to establish the “criteria, knowledge and skills within which a pharmacist would need to demonstrate their safe effective care when providing these types of services” and using medications such as Botox and dermal fillers. Read: UBC Pharmacy develops unique dermatology course “It is our understanding that many pharmacists have pursued competency learning and training to enable themselves to confidently provide these services and if they can demonstrate having met the ACP criteria, then they should be able to continue,” wrote the association. “If the pharmacist is the best trained individual providing this service, then that should be the person providing the care.” The association also pointed out to the college that the draft standards, as they have been written, “obligate a pharmacist to transfer care to someone who potentially has lesser qualifications—which is not person-focused nor necessarily in the best interest of the patient.” Other healthcare professionals don’t face the same restrictions, noted the association. Alberta dentists, for example, have standards of practice that support provision of Botox injections for esthetic reasons using their knowledge and skill. One Alberta pharmacist who asked not to be named said he has been injecting Botox and dermal fillers for about 15 years now and had initially been questioned by the college about these services. “They just asked me what courses did I take, and what I did was send them all the course materials as well as all the references and research that I did myself,” he recalled. “And they left me alone after that. So at the end of the day, they knew what I was doing and they could see that I was competent. But now they’re going backwards.” As the college council considers banning cosmetic injections by pharmacists, it should place its deliberations within the context of the province’s leadership in pharmacists’ scope of practice, said the pharmacist. “Alberta has always led the way and has always tried to encourage the expansion of pharmacists’ abilities and their scope of practice,” he said. If they've demonstrated proficiency in an area and have done whatever training is required, then I think they should be able to practise.” Read: Canada bans testing of cosmetic products on animals

'I will take them to court': Alberta pharmacists needled by proposed change banning them from injecting for cosmetic reasons

Register for free access or login.

Related Topics