In 2017, after the government approved regulations to expand NPs’ scope of practice to include prescribing controlled substances, CNO Council changed its by-laws in response to these regulations.
The changes permit CNO to post and remove information about prescribing and managing controlled substances on an NP’s profile on the CNO’s public register, Find a Nurse. This ensures that the public, employers, other health care providers and system partners can find out whether an NP is authorized to prescribe controlled substances.
The information that will be posted on an NP’s profile depends on:
- whether they have met the education requirements as defined in the regulation
- whether there is a Health Canada notice about the NP
This page provides information about the regulations and by-laws.
Regulations: NPs who can prescribe controlled substances
Only NPs who have successfully completed CNO-approved controlled substances education are authorized to prescribe controlled substances in Ontario. For more information about the required education, review the Controlled Substances Education Requirement FAQs.
By-Laws: Health Canada notices
A Health Canada notice is a letter sent by Health Canada to inform pharmaceutical companies and pharmacies that they must not:
- sell or provide a controlled substance to a practitioner and/or
- fill a practitioner’s prescription for a controlled substance.
A practitioner is any health care provider with these authorities (such as physicians and NPs). The notice is also sent to the relevant regulator (for nurses, The College of Nurses of Ontario).
There are several triggers for a Health Canada notice. For example, CNO may request it because the NP breached a rule of conduct or was found guilty of a designated drug offence or an offence under the federal regulations. Details about the notice are posted to the NP’s profile on CNO’s public register, Find a Nurse.