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Acute care	Provision, to a patient who has been formally admitted to a bed in a facility, of the necessary treatment for a disease or severe episode of illness for a short period. Patients are discharged from acute care as soon as they are healthy and their condition is stable. Note: Palliative care beds and alternate level of care (ALC) beds may be classified as acute or non-acute, according to how they are designated within a given facility.
Non-acute care	Inpatient care that is not of an acute nature, encompassing the following types of care: long-term care (LTC), rehabilitation, chronic care and complex continuing care. Note: Palliative care beds and alternate level of care (ALC) beds may be classified as acute or non-acute, according to how they are designated within a given facility.
Alternate level of care (ALC)	Care provided to a patient who is occupying a bed in a facility but does not require the intensity of resources/services usually provided in that care setting (whether acute care, chronic or complex continuing care, mental health care or rehabilitation). In this situation, the patient must be designated “ALC” by the most appropriate care team member (physician, long-term care [LTC] assessor, patient care manager, discharge planner or other care team member). For a patient with “ALC” designation in an acute care setting, discharge/transfer destinations may include but are not limited to: • home (with/without services); • designated/specialized mental health treatment facility; • chronic or complex continuing care (facility/bed within or outside reporting facility); and • long-term care (LTC) home. The discharge or transfer destination need not be known at the time of ALC designation.
Complex continuing care	The delivery of medically complex, specialized services (e.g., ventilation therapy) to patients of any age, over extended periods of time.
Long-term care (LTC)	Care to address the needs of patients who require nursing and personal care on a continuing basis. These patients usually have disabilities or chronic care needs, with a range of medical and/or social services being offered. The services are generally provided in residential facilities (e.g., nursing homes or assisted living facilities).
Rehabilitation	Care to address the needs of patients who have been disabled by disease or injury. In the rehabilitation setting, patients receive combined and coordinated care through the provision of medical, social, educational and vocational measures for training or re-training, in an effort to restore the patients to their highest possible level of functional ability.
Palliative care	Care to address the needs of patients with life-limiting conditions. In the palliative care setting, the focus is on improving quality of life for the patient and their family/loved ones. Improving quality of life begins with identifying, assessing and alleviating pain and other physical, psychosocial and spiritual issues.
Mental health care	Care to address the needs of patients with mental illness. In the mental health care setting, the focus is on observing and providing care and treatment for patients who are experiencing mental health disorders.
Unit-dose system	A drug distribution system in which medications are packaged and dispensed to the patient care unit in a single-dose, ready-to-administer form. Usually, no more than a 24-hour supply of patient-specific medication is delivered to the patient care unit at any one time. A unit-dose system may be centralized or decentralized.
Centralized unit-dose system	A unit-dose system in which most medications for a specified time frame (e.g., 24 hours) are dispensed to the patient care unit from the central pharmacy.
Decentralized unit-dose system	A unit-dose system in which most medications are distributed from a satellite pharmacy or from an automated dispensing cabinet (ADC) located on the patient care unit.
Automated dispensing cabinet (ADC)	A computer-driven mechanical system (e.g., Pyxis, Omnicell Technologies) located in a patient care area, which stores medications, controls their release to authorized personnel and captures all transaction information.
Traditional drug distribution system	A drug distribution system in which most medications are labelled and dispensed in multi-dose, patient-specific vials or similar medication containers, after a pharmacist has reviewed and approved the medication and dosage ordered for each specific patient.
Total wardstock system	A drug distribution system in which most medications are stocked on the patient care unit in bulk containers, from which medications can be removed and administered to patients without a pharmacist having to first review and approve the medication order for each specific patient.
Controlled/carded dose system	A drug distribution system in which most medications are packaged in blister cards containing up to a one-month supply of medication. A pharmacist usually reviews and approves the medication order before a patient-specific label is applied to the card and the card is delivered to the patient.
Budgeted hours	All staffing hours that are funded in the budget. If relief hours (e.g., for vacation or illness) are included in the budget, they should be counted as budgeted hours.
Full-Time Equivalent (FTE)	A standardized counting unit, whereby the annual number of budgeted hours for a full-time employee (e.g., 2,015 hours) is equivalent to 1 FTE. For example, if the total number of budgeted hours for all pharmacists in a given fiscal year is 20,150, and the number of hours budgeted for a full-time pharmacist is 2,015, the number of FTEs would be 10. Budgeted casual and relief hours should be included in the calculation of FTEs.
0.2 Full-Time Equivalent (FTE)	Assignment of a pharmacist to a program for a minimum of one day per week or for shorter periods that combine to the equivalent of one day per week, on average. For example, 0.2 FTE is equivalent to one pharmacist working one full day per week or two half-days per week.
Staff Pharmacist	A pharmacist who holds a licence to practice pharmacy and who participates in the delivery of drug distribution and/or clinical services (excluding pharmacists in management positions and any pharmacists who have been designated as Advanced Practice Pharmacists).
Pharmacist Manager	A pharmacist who is responsible for managing one or more sites or functional areas and who is responsible for hiring, performance reviews, discipline and dismissal of designated staff members who report directly.
Pharmacy Technician Manager	A regulated pharmacy technician who is responsible for managing one or more sites or functional areas and who is usually responsible for hiring, performance reviews, discipline and dismissal of designated staff members who report directly.
Non-regulated Pharmacy Assistant Manager	A non-regulated pharmacy assistant who is responsible for managing one or more sites or functional areas and who is usually responsible for hiring, performance reviews, discipline and dismissal of designated staff members who report directly.
Regulated Pharmacy Technician	An individual who has been licensed by the relevant provincial college of pharmacists/pharmacy and who is qualified to perform, without direct supervision of a pharmacist, specialized functions, such as compounding medications, preparing parenteral admixtures, entering medication orders into the pharmacy information system and checking the work of other pharmacy technicians or non-regulated pharmacy assistants. The individual may also perform basic functions, such as re-packaging medications, delivering medications, maintaining inventory records and performing clerical activities. Individuals with this designation have passed the qualifying examination of the Pharmacy Examining Board of Canada (PEBC) after (1) graduating from an accredited pharmacy technician training program or (2) passing the PEBC evaluation examination and becoming qualified for licensure. For the purposes of this survey, the term “Regulated Pharmacy Technician” means those who are “registered” or “licensed” by a provincial regulatory body (college). Note: This designation is applicable only in provinces where regulation of pharmacy technicians has been implemented; Level 1 (Staff) and Level 2 (Senior) categories of the designation may be used.
Non-regulated Pharmacy Assistant	An individual who works under the direct supervision of a pharmacist or a regulated pharmacy technician to assist with various functions, such as compounding medications, preparing parenteral admixtures, entering medication orders into the pharmacy information system and checking the work of other non-regulated pharmacy assistants, or to perform basic functions, such as re-packaging medications, delivering medications, maintaining inventory records and performing clerical activities. Such an individual may also be referred to as a technical assistant.
Computerized provider order entry (CPOE)	Process whereby a healthcare provider enters medication orders or other instructions electronically, rather than on paper charts.
Smart pump	Infusion pump with a programmable drug library, including clinical alerts related to drug dose and rate, as well as the ability to store and download usage data for quality assurance, education and safety purposes.