2.7 Fan-Out Messages

The Ministry of Health sometimes sends urgent messages through PharmaNet to community pharmacies in B.C. Such “fan-out” messages are transmitted to all pharmacies or to specific groups of pharmacies, e.g., by geographical area.

Fan-out messages may be sent in case of a:

• Lost prescription pad (regular or duplicate)
• Stolen prescription pad (regular or duplicate)
• Unscheduled PharmaNet outages (i.e., outside of a scheduled change)

Fan-out messages are automatically received by pharmacy PharmaNet software and displayed on the screen for immediate printing. The message should be printed out and made available to all pharmacy staff to reference.

Reporting a lost or stolen prescription pad

Only registrants of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of BC, the BC College of Nurses and Midwives, the College of Pharmacists of BC, or a dentist licensed by the BC College of Oral Health Professionals can report a lost or stolen prescription pad (regular or duplicate).

To report a lost or stolen prescription pad:

1. Call PharmaNet Data Quality Services Team at 1-844-660-3200. The phone line is answered Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. – 4 p.m. Outside of these hours, leave a voice message.
2. Provide the prescriber name and location, Prescriber ID Reference Code and license number; relevant folio number(s); contact information; and additional information as required.
3. Within one business day, the PharmaNet Data Quality Services Team will issue a fan-out to pharmacies in the prescriber’s geographical area.

Other urgent information

PharmaNet Data Quality Services Team does not issue a fan-out about incidents other than those outlined above. For example, fan-outs are not issued for prescription forgeries, pharmacy robberies, persons impersonating health care providers or insurers, multi-doctoring.