Dear Healthcare Professional,

Thank you for implementing the PhIX platform as part of your pharmacy's approach to incident and near-miss management. PhIX has been developed to meet the standards established under the Continuous Quality Improvement Plus (CQI+) Program of the Alberta College of Pharmacy (ACP).

All data transmitted is handled in accordance with rigorous privacy and security protocols, including encryption during transfer and storage, access restrictions, and secure infrastructure. Submissions are used exclusively for the purpose of aggregate analysis, shared learning, and system-wide quality improvement in medication safety.

Pharmacies may submit the following categories of anonymized information to the PhIX platform

• Date and time of the incident
• Nature of the incident (e.g., incorrect medication, dosage error)
• Role of the individual who discovered the incident (e.g., pharmacist, technician, patient)
• Stage(s) in the medication-use process involved
• Specific medications implicated
• Actual or potential patient harm (if any)
• Detailed narrative of the incident
• Contributing factors
• Actions taken to address or prevent recurrence
• Optional fields: patient age/gender, contextual background, and learnings to be shared

It is imperative that no report submitted through the PhIX platform contains information that could directly identify any individual patient, staff member, or organization. The submitting pharmacy is solely responsible for ensuring the removal of any identifiable data prior to submission. PharmaSafe maintains a comprehensive internal privacy program and has filed a Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA) specific to the PhIX platform. The PharmaSafe Privacy Policy is publicly accessible at PharmaSafe.ca.

Per the Guide to CQI+ issued by the Alberta College of Pharmacy, the licensee is designated as the custodian of the pharmacy's incident data. In compliance with the Health Information Act (HIA), licensees may be obligated to file a separate Privacy Impact Assessment with the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Alberta.

From time to time, PharmaSafe may revise its incident reporting or data submission processes. Pharmacies will be notified of any such changes in advance. PharmaSafe also performs regular reviews in collaboration with the Alberta College of Pharmacy to confirm that each licensed pharmacy maintains an active, signed Data Sharing Agreement. Please note that, as stated in the CQI+ guidance, platform credentials must not be shared between licensed pharmacy locations.

We appreciate your ongoing dedication to quality improvement and patient safety. Your participation in the PhIX program represents a critical step toward advancing medication safety practices across the province and nationally.

Sincerely,

The PharmaSafe – PhIX Team