Alberta Naloxone Kit Claims Will Require a Personal Health Number Starting October 1

Effective October 1, 2026, Alberta's Community Based Naloxone (CBN) program will require pharmacists or pharmacy technicians to request, collect and record a patient-specific personal health number (PHN) for every naloxone kit provided through a pharmacy claim.

What changes when a PHN is unavailable

If an individual is unable or unwilling to provide a valid PHN, or does not have an active PHN, the pharmacy team must refer them to a nearby community-based organization (CBO) for a kit. The Alberta College of Pharmacy says a pseudo-PHN may be used only in very limited circumstances: when naloxone is needed immediately in an emergency, or when a person cannot access a PHN and no nearby CBO offers kits.

Who may provide a kit

Non-regulated pharmacy staff, including pharmacy assistants, may not independently train patients or provide kits without oversight from a responsible regulated member. Kits may be provided by a pharmacist or pharmacy technician who has completed the program's required education, and recipients must be offered education on opioid-poisoning response and naloxone use.

Participating pharmacies do not need to re-register because of the transition from Primary Care Alberta to Recovery Alberta. Pharmacies will continue to order, receive and distribute kits, and kits will remain free for Albertans.

Practice guidance for pharmacists

• Update intake and claim procedures before October 1 so staff request and record a patient-specific PHN for each CBN kit.
• Map nearby community-based organizations and keep referral information accessible for people without a valid or active PHN.
• Limit pseudo-PHN use to the narrow emergency or no-access/no-nearby-CBO situations described by the program.
• Confirm that only appropriately educated pharmacists or pharmacy technicians provide kits and that assistants work under regulated-member oversight.
• Offer practical overdose-response and naloxone-use education, and retire local copies of ACP's former naloxone guidance document.