Pharmacy Receipts in Quebec ..... how long do pharmacies keep them
- Thread starter ocean
- Start date
If you always go to the same pharmacy you can ask them for your income tax paper. They should have it availble. If you have access to your pharmacy online account you also can print it from there
Ocean, if you regularly take your prescriptions at a specific pharmacy that is part of one of the large chains here in Quebec, they have yearly detailed summaries of all your prescriptions that goes as far back as 7 years (if not more). You need to go to your pharmacy and obtain a code that is specific to your account. Then go online to chain's website (ex: for Pharmaprix it's: mondossierpharma.ca), create an account, and then you'll have access to your summaries. As in4hell said, you can also go to your regular pharmacy and get a hard copy there but usually, for income tax purposes, it's only a slip that tells you the total amount you've spent in the previous year. If you need specific info, probably better to get it online.
Hi Albacore, I did solve this problem, I paid 5$ , to my Pharmacy and they gave me a recu impot. Yes, according to Revenue Quebec rules they have to keep 1 year of tax receipts.
PS they gave me itemized receipts with their professional fees outlined, and the cost of each drug.
I am sorta happy I can claim back some from revenue, and CRA declarations.
A a pharmacist myself, I can dive wurther into that question:
1. Tax reciepts, whatever the brand, are printed direct from the Meds Managing Software database. These can run anywhere from 1 year to 15, even 20 years (id depends on your system, and how far back in time you want to allow your pharmacist/staff to be able to see.
2. IMO, I have never charged any patient for any yearly tax receipt. It is literally a single command (as « ip+enter ») to get it to print within 3-4 seconds. And I always thought charging for this was dishonest.
3. Now, getting into for legal or ethical stuff. The physical Rx (prescription from MD) MUST be stored for a minimum of 5 years into a physical archive. On top of that, any Targeted substances (benzodiazepines or hypnotics mostly), Controlled substances (mostly psychostimulants from either amphetamines or methylphenidate families), and Testosterone’s derivatives, and Narcotics (opiate derivative, cannabinoids derivatives, ketamine and other powdered high potency pure drugs), are sujbected to a 10y rule minimum.
4. Please note these are MINIMUMS. Any pharmacist can decide to leep your Rx for stomach pain meds for 100 years if that’s what’s get’s him off.
5. The reason I am mentioning these, if the fact that even thought we are bound by professional secret, it is still way to common to have a wife call to come over and get her man’s meds. This should « in theory » never be allowed. But the healthcare system being what it is, we usually use our judgement, check is said wife rings a bell, then serve.
6. This kinda gray line behaviour could put in jeopardy a whole marriage if Lady Wife would be to ask say, for Meister Men’s tax receipt for the year. Most pharmacy would provide it without meds name. BUT a pharmacy could fuck up and deliver the detailed 8 1/2’’ x 11’’ receipt on which she could discover many secrets that Meister Man thought sheltered far from anyone.
7. Private insurances: Do remember that any meds submitted to your private insurance by the pharmacy is done electronically. Unless the meds you want to hide is refused by your insurance, it will remain in THEIR database likely forever. And those claimed meds who do get accepted/covered will likely show up on a full receipt in the mail from your insurer.
7.1 To prevent this unexpected surprise, you can ask your pharmacist to « force » the service of Cialis/Viagra/Levitra to run « without insurance ». This way, the insurance will never hear about it (unless the pharmacist/tech fucks up).
7.2 Alternatively, you can also ask for generic versions of the drugs (tadalafil/sildenafil/vardenafil), which have names that are a lot less compromising.
8. Another note: nowadays, we have what’s called the DSQ, which can show any practitioner the full meds file of anybody he wants. Sure our ethics code mandates that you cannont check a file without justifiable cause. Not even your own. But it only requires a simple command on the keyboard to do it anyway. There are 2 things you can do to prevent this:
8.1 You can straight up opt out of the DSQ. Ask any pharmacist and they will set it up for you. Remember however that this loss of insight from other healthcare workers, could, potentially in very rare case, spell the difference between life and death for you.
8.2 You have the right, at any given time, to ask the RAMQ for an exhaustive list of ALL the practitionners who accessed your file within the past 5-10 years I believe. Free of charge. I did it for my own file recently. Easy but a few weeks process.
9. Finally, please note that none of the « tricks » mentioned above should block your ability to get a tax receipt for at least the last 5 years, maybe even 10 years or more.
Peace. Stay safe guys .
-Chromatix, also know as PharmaMan
1. Tax reciepts, whatever the brand, are printed direct from the Meds Managing Software database. These can run anywhere from 1 year to 15, even 20 years (id depends on your system, and how far back in time you want to allow your pharmacist/staff to be able to see.
2. IMO, I have never charged any patient for any yearly tax receipt. It is literally a single command (as « ip+enter ») to get it to print within 3-4 seconds. And I always thought charging for this was dishonest.
3. Now, getting into for legal or ethical stuff. The physical Rx (prescription from MD) MUST be stored for a minimum of 5 years into a physical archive. On top of that, any Targeted substances (benzodiazepines or hypnotics mostly), Controlled substances (mostly psychostimulants from either amphetamines or methylphenidate families), and Testosterone’s derivatives, and Narcotics (opiate derivative, cannabinoids derivatives, ketamine and other powdered high potency pure drugs), are sujbected to a 10y rule minimum.
4. Please note these are MINIMUMS. Any pharmacist can decide to leep your Rx for stomach pain meds for 100 years if that’s what’s get’s him off.
5. The reason I am mentioning these, if the fact that even thought we are bound by professional secret, it is still way to common to have a wife call to come over and get her man’s meds. This should « in theory » never be allowed. But the healthcare system being what it is, we usually use our judgement, check is said wife rings a bell, then serve.
6. This kinda gray line behaviour could put in jeopardy a whole marriage if Lady Wife would be to ask say, for Meister Men’s tax receipt for the year. Most pharmacy would provide it without meds name. BUT a pharmacy could fuck up and deliver the detailed 8 1/2’’ x 11’’ receipt on which she could discover many secrets that Meister Man thought sheltered far from anyone.
7. Private insurances: Do remember that any meds submitted to your private insurance by the pharmacy is done electronically. Unless the meds you want to hide is refused by your insurance, it will remain in THEIR database likely forever. And those claimed meds who do get accepted/covered will likely show up on a full receipt in the mail from your insurer.
7.1 To prevent this unexpected surprise, you can ask your pharmacist to « force » the service of Cialis/Viagra/Levitra to run « without insurance ». This way, the insurance will never hear about it (unless the pharmacist/tech fucks up).
7.2 Alternatively, you can also ask for generic versions of the drugs (tadalafil/sildenafil/vardenafil), which have names that are a lot less compromising.
8. Another note: nowadays, we have what’s called the DSQ, which can show any practitioner the full meds file of anybody he wants. Sure our ethics code mandates that you cannont check a file without justifiable cause. Not even your own. But it only requires a simple command on the keyboard to do it anyway. There are 2 things you can do to prevent this:
8.1 You can straight up opt out of the DSQ. Ask any pharmacist and they will set it up for you. Remember however that this loss of insight from other healthcare workers, could, potentially in very rare case, spell the difference between life and death for you.
8.2 You have the right, at any given time, to ask the RAMQ for an exhaustive list of ALL the practitionners who accessed your file within the past 5-10 years I believe. Free of charge. I did it for my own file recently. Easy but a few weeks process.
9. Finally, please note that none of the « tricks » mentioned above should block your ability to get a tax receipt for at least the last 5 years, maybe even 10 years or more.
Peace. Stay safe guys .
-Chromatix, also know as PharmaMan
I worked in several pharmacies over the years
I can confirm you that drug store keeps your record, RX, receipts for years and years of not for life.
If you need your record or a receipt even if it’s something you took 10 years ago, just ask the lady at the counter to print it out
I can confirm you that drug store keeps your record, RX, receipts for years and years of not for life.
If you need your record or a receipt even if it’s something you took 10 years ago, just ask the lady at the counter to print it out
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