Hats off to Merv Koszman, pharmacist-owner of Westview Pharmacy in Powell River, B.C., for educating a group of grade eleven students about the pharmacist’s role in the community. He also allowed several students to spend the day in his pharmacy to help heighten the public’s awareness about the pharmacist’s role in healthcare.
*** ***A welcome sigh of relief greets asthma patients with the launch of Breathe: Active living with asthma. Congratulations to the Asthma Society of Canada, Merck Frosst Canada and Co. and Parkhurst Publishing for teaming up to produce the 20-page quarterly publication. Breathe will give asthma patients access to the country’s leading experts on the disease; provide articles on the management and treatment of asthma and its triggers; and provide news and research on the latest therapeutic advances in an easy-to-read format. It’s available through doctor’s offices and subscriptions are available. A French edition, Plein vent, is available in Quebec. For more information call (888) 938-3777.
*** ***Enough already of provincial drug programs that make major drug coverage, reimbursement and formulary changes without consulting pharmacists, physicians or patient groups!
Changes such as B.C. Pharmacare’s recent sudden delisting of the commonly-prescribed zopiclone, and its demand for a special authorization form to cover acetaminophen for osteoarthritis could have been handled better. Yes, it takes longer to get consensus, but guess what? Answering angry phone calls from all three groups wastes even more time!
