AIMS incident reporting for Ontario pharmacies
AIMS changes in 2027: free AIMS incident reporting for Ontario pharmacies
From January 1, 2027, Ontario pharmacies must record incidents and near misses in a platform that meets OCP's criteria. PHOX Reporter is PharmaGuide's incident reporting app for the updated standard, and it costs nothing: every location, no card, no end date.
- Free for every pharmacy location
- No card
- No end date
What the updated AIMS standard asks of your pharmacy
Every Ontario community pharmacy already takes part in AIMS. The January 1, 2027 update asks for a reporting platform chosen against OCP’s criteria, and for meetings and assessments on a set schedule. Each requirement below is split between the work PHOX Reporter does and the part that stays with your pharmacy.
Record every incident and near miss in a platform that meets OCP’s criteria
From January 1, 2027- PHOX Reporter
- Each report captures the medication event details OCP lists. The patient appears only as an age range and a gender, never by name.
- Your pharmacy
- Choose your platform and make sure it meets the criteria.
A unique login for each pharmacist and pharmacy technician
From January 1, 2027- PHOX Reporter
- Every person signs in with their own account, and each entry is attributed to whoever made it.
- Your pharmacy
- Invite each member of your team.
CQI meetings at least once every quarter
First meeting by April 1, 2027- PHOX Reporter
- Minutes, attendees and action items for each meeting, with the quarterly rhythm tracked.
- Your pharmacy
- Hold the meeting.
A validated safety self-assessment every two years
Every two years- PHOX Reporter
- Keeps the result on file and tracks the next due date.
- Your pharmacy
- Complete it in ISMP Canada MSSA or Pharmapod PSSA.
A data sharing agreement with ISMP Canada
Once- PHOX Reporter
- Shows the provider details the agreement asks for, and files the signed agreement with your records.
- Your pharmacy
- Your pharmacy and ISMP Canada sign it between them.
Staff also complete OCP’s AIMS e-learning modules. OCP sees only aggregate, de-identified data from the national repository, never your pharmacy’s individual reports.
From the team behind PHOX
PharmaGuide has built software for Canadian pharmacies since 2018. We made Reporter free so the 2027 change does not add another subscription to your costs, whether you run one location or a group.
It is its own app at phox.app, with its own sign-up, so you can start with Reporter alone and add other PHOX apps when you are ready.
Create your account
Sign up at phox.app with your work email. It takes about two minutes, and there is no card to enter.
Set up your store
Look up your pharmacy, tell us which dispensing system you use, and send each pharmacist and technician an invitation for a personal sign-in.
Start your record
Enter incidents and near misses as they happen, and put your first quarterly CQI meeting in the calendar ahead of the April 1, 2027 checkpoint.
Questions from pharmacy owners
Is PHOX Reporter really free?
Yes. It costs nothing for every pharmacy location you add. There is no card to enter when you sign up, and the offer has no end date.
What changes for Ontario pharmacies on January 1, 2027?
AIMS already applies to every Ontario community pharmacy. The updated standard, a College supplemental standard of practice, adds a fixed set of requirements from January 1, 2027: incidents and near misses recorded in a platform that meets OCP's criteria and contributes to ISMP Canada's National Incident Data Repository (NIDR), a unique login for each pharmacist and pharmacy technician, CQI meetings at least once every quarter, and a validated safety self-assessment every two years.
OCP's Designated Manager checklist asks for the first quarterly CQI meeting by April 1, 2027.
Is PHOX Reporter approved by OCP?
No. The College does not approve or endorse any platform. What it publishes instead is two lists of providers, those that have finished testing with ISMP Canada and those still testing, and PHOX Reporter is on them under the name PharmaGuide Phox. Where it stands today: In testing with ISMP Canada, ready before January 1, 2027.
Does PHOX Reporter send reports to ISMP Canada today?
Not yet. Sending to the National Incident Data Repository is switched on once ISMP Canada finishes testing Reporter, and it is designed to share de-identified reports only. Until that point, every report stays in your PHOX Reporter account.
Does Reporter do the safety self-assessment?
No. The self-assessment has to be done in a validated tool, ISMP Canada MSSA or Pharmapod PSSA. Reporter keeps the result on file and tracks when the next one is due, two years later.
What does my pharmacy still do itself?
Sign your own data sharing agreement with ISMP Canada, hold the quarterly CQI meetings, complete the self-assessment, have your staff finish OCP's AIMS e-learning, and keep your pharmacy's data private and secure. Reporter keeps the record of your agreement, meetings and self-assessments.
Each pharmacy chooses its own platform and is responsible for making sure it meets the AIMS criteria.
Do I need another PHOX app to use Reporter?
No. Reporter is free on its own. If you want more later, it sits alongside PHOX Docs, PHOX Dash, PHOXBook and the other PHOX apps.
We are outside Ontario. Can we sign up?
Yes. Reporter works the same way in any province: report incidents, analyze what caused them and run your CQI meetings. Only the January 1, 2027 deadline described here is specific to Ontario.
Something else? Write to support@pharmaguide.ca.
Get your incident record running before January 2027
Free for every pharmacy location. No card. No end date. Sign-up takes about two minutes.
Get PHOX Reporter freeSources
- Supplemental standard of practice: the mandatory standardized AIMS program in Ontario pharmacies (Ontario College of Pharmacists, effective January 1, 2027)
- Criteria a pharmacy’s incident reporting platform must meet (Ontario College of Pharmacists)
- The AIMS checklist for Designated Managers (Ontario College of Pharmacists)
The Ontario College of Pharmacists does not approve or endorse specific incident reporting platforms.