Receiving controlled substances: the receiving record

Under the Controlled Substances Regulations (in force October 1, 2026), a pharmacist or pharmacy technician documents every controlled substance received from a licensed dealer, another pharmacist or a hospital — low-dose codeine products included. Health Canada’s guidance for community pharmacies (CS-GD-022, September 29, 2026) lists what that record holds.

What the receiving record holds

• Who received it: the name of the pharmacist or pharmacy technician.
• Who it came from: the wholesaler, pharmacy or hospital, the person’s name and title where there is one, and their municipal address.
• The date it was received. Health Canada calls this critical: it is how a loss or theft is detected, and the date the reconciliation counts the stock on.
• The product: name, brand, the controlled substance it contains, form, strength, number of containers, units per container and DIN.

Recording a receipt in NarcCount

Open Purchases and use Record a purchase.

• Pick the drug by DIN or name.
• Enter the quantity (or packs × pack size) and the date it arrived. Received by starts as your name.
• Choose who it came from and add their name and address: a wholesaler, another pharmacy (central fill or emergency supply), a hospital in an emergency, or a pharmacy that is closing or changing owner.
• For a central fill, add the Rx number at your pharmacy.
• Only the drug, the quantity and the date received are required.

Deliveries already uploaded

A line imported from your wholesaler’s report is dated by its invoice.

• Press Receiving on the line to record who received it, where it came from and the day it actually arrived.
• When NarcCount knows the wholesaler (a K&F invoice number, or the line's own record), it is picked for you, with the name and address from Settings → Your wholesalers. Check them, then save.
• It applies to every line on that invoice at once.
• If the day is different, the lines move to it. The invoice date stays beside them.
• Uploading the same report again still recognises them.

Reconciliation uses the date received

NarcCount counts a delivery on the day it arrived, not its invoice date.

• That is Health Canada’s rule: reconciliation adds everything received since the last verified count “according to the receiving records”, transfers from another pharmacy included.
• A new date that would move a delivery across a finalized count is refused. Reopen that count first.
• A line from the Kroll sync keeps the date the sync gave it.

Stock you send out

Record these on Dispensing → Record a sale or transfer, so the next count expects them to be gone:

• Stock you provide to another pharmacy (a central fill or an emergency supply).
• Stock you return to a licensed dealer.
• A low-dose codeine product sold over the counter.
• For an emergency supply, Health Canada expects both pharmacies to record it: one as a sale, the other as a receipt.