Resources
Free tools and plain-language guides on narcotic reconciliation and controlled-substance recordkeeping for Canadian pharmacies.
Free tools
- Free tool
Free controlled substance count sheet and log (PDF)
Printable count sheets, a perpetual-inventory log and a shift-change sheet for Canadian pharmacies. Free, no sign-up.
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Narcotic count cost calculator
Works out what a manual narcotic count costs a pharmacy per year in staff time, from your own count frequency and wage figures.
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Controlled substance tracking software for Canadian pharmacies
What controlled-substance tracking software has to do in Canada, and how to evaluate one.
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Free medication incident report form - Ontario AIMS 15 fields
A free worksheet for Ontario's fifteen mandatory medication incident fields: fill it in, print the record, or copy it into whichever AIMS platform the pharmacy uses. No account, and nothing typed leaves the browser. It is a capture aid, not a reporting platform, and it submits nothing to the National Incident Data Repository.
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Free DIN lookup: is this DIN a narcotic?
Type a Canadian DIN or brand name and see the product, its company, its federal controlled-substance schedule (narcotic, controlled drug, targeted substance) and whether it is marketed or cancelled, read live from Health Canada's Drug Product Database. Free, no sign-up.
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Guides
Narcotic reconciliation software in Canada
The tools a Canadian pharmacy can buy, each described from its vendor’s own page, and six questions to ask before you sign. NarcCount is listed first and disclosed as ours; nothing is ranked.
Read the guide →A narcotic reconciliation, worked end to end
One drug, one six-month window, and three real causes of a variance worked through to zero.
Read →What to do after a narcotic discrepancy: a step-by-step
A controlled substance didn't reconcile. Here's a calm, methodical way to find the cause — and know when a loss actually has to be reported.
Read →How often must Ontario pharmacies count narcotics?
Ontario's OCP expects narcotics reconciled every six months. Nova Scotia and PEI monthly; Alberta, BC, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Newfoundland every three.
Read →Health Canada loss or theft reporting: a step-by-step for pharmacies
A loss or theft of a controlled substance is reported to Health Canada within 10 days of discovering it. What to gather, who submits it, and where the form is.
Read →CDSA recordkeeping: what to keep, and for how long
At least 2 years federally (three regulations, one per drug class); at least 10 years in Ontario (O. Reg. 264/16 s. 21). What to keep, and in what form.
Read →Preparing for a narcotics inspection: a pharmacy checklist
An inspector may ask to see how you manage controlled substances. A little preparation makes it routine — here's a practical checklist.
Read →Is a narcotic discrepancy reportable? Loss vs. theft vs. an explained variance
Not every count discrepancy is a reportable loss. What decides it is whether you can explain the variance, not whether it came out high or low.
Read →How Long Does a Pharmacy Keep Records in Canada?
In Ontario, pharmacy records are kept at least 10 years (O. Reg. 264/16 s. 21). Federally, controlled-substance records are kept at least 2 years.
Read →Controlled Substance Inventory Frequency in Canada
Narcotic reconciliation intervals by province, from monthly in Nova Scotia and PEI to twice a year in Ontario, and how to run each count well.
Read →Drug Diversion Within a Pharmacy: Definition, Warning Signs and Response
What drug diversion inside a pharmacy looks like, how to tell it from a record error, the patterns worth watching, and the controls that deter it.
Read →Narcotic Log Book Template: Columns, Worked Entries and Corrections
The columns a narcotic log book needs, a worked page of entries, what separates a good entry from a weak one, and how to correct a mistake.
Read →Methadone Accountability Log: Reconciling by Volume
How pharmacies keep a methadone balance in mL: a worked daily log, normal measurement variance, pump calibration checks, and witnessed and carry doses.
Read →Perpetual Inventory System Example for Pharmacies
A worked perpetual inventory example for a narcotic, the formula behind it, why balances drift, and how to keep a spreadsheet version honest.
Read →Narcotic Destruction Records in a Canadian Pharmacy
How destruction and waste of narcotics and controlled substances is documented in Canadian pharmacies, how long records are kept, and how it affects reconciliation.
Read →Narcotic Monitoring in Ontario Pharmacies: Records and Counts
How narcotic and controlled-substance records and reconciliation work in an Ontario pharmacy, with a worked example, common variance causes and what NarcCount does.
Read →Controlled Substances Regulations: Counts, Records and Loss Reporting
On October 1, 2026, the Controlled Substances Regulations replaced the Narcotic Control Regulations. Here is what changed for counts, records and loss reports.
Read →Pharmacy Technicians and Controlled Substances in Canada
Technicians now receive, compound, transfer, destroy and deliver controlled substances in their own right. Ordering and dispensing stay with pharmacists.
Read →Ordering and Receiving Controlled Substances in a Pharmacy
Only a pharmacist orders controlled substances, in their own name. A pharmacist or technician receives them, and the arrival date goes on the record.
Read →Central Fill of Controlled Substances in Canadian Pharmacies
A pharmacy can now central fill another pharmacy's controlled-substance prescriptions without a dealer's licence. The conditions, the order and Ontario's policy.
Read →Controlled Substance Prescription Transfers and Extensions
A controlled-substance prescription can be transferred any number of times and extended, inside one window that starts when the first pharmacy received it.
Read →Destroying Controlled Substances in a Pharmacy: Who Can Witness
Under the Controlled Substances Regulations a technician can destroy, and the witness can be a technician, intern or other health professional.
Read →Pharmacy Delivery of Controlled Substances: Rules and Records
A pharmacist or technician can deliver controlled substances by a tracked method to the patient or their designate, never by mail. What the record holds.
Read →Low-Dose Codeine Products in Canada: The Pharmacy Rules
A pharmacist can sell low-dose codeine without a prescription under set conditions. Its receipt is still recorded and its inventory still tracked.
Read →Storing Controlled Substances: Security Requirements for Pharmacies
How a pharmacy stores controlled substances under the Controlled Substances Regulations, what Health Canada adds, and Ontario's time-delayed safe policy.
Read →Prescriber Verification and Forged Prescriptions: Pharmacy Rules
How a pharmacy confirms the prescriber behind a controlled-substance prescription, and when a forged prescription becomes a report to Health Canada.
Read →Advertising Controlled Substances: The Rules for Canadian Pharmacies
The Controlled Substances Regulations bar advertising controlled substances to the public, websites and social media included. What is allowed, and to whom.
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