In the news
- New patient care initiatives announced by the Ontario Pharmacists’ Association and the Ministry of Health(such as trial prescription and professional intervention programs) result in more active and direct management of the Ontario Drug Benefit Plan at the pharmacy level. See Pharmacy Post for details.
- Pharmacists formerly operating under the ARP banner in Atlantic Canada opt for independence and ratify a $350-million, 10-year distribution deal with Medis Health and Pharmaceutical Ltd. of Saint-Laurent, Que.
- Komal Khosla, the Toronto pharmacist who supplied the methadone that ended up killing a six-year-old boy, says precautions–such as child-proof caps–were taken to ensure the medication wouldn’t end up in the wrong hands. (The child had drunk the methadone which was diluted in orange juice.)
- A new study conducted by the Pharmaceutical Outcomes Research Unit of the Ottawa Hospital and the University of Ottawa finds that members of the Health Outcome Pharmacies cooperative are four times more likely to intervene while filling a script, compared to other pharmacies. The most frequent reasons for intervention are drug therapy problems relating to interactions, dose, allergies, duplications, methods of administration, or patient-related questions.
- Manitoba pharmacists aim to provide seniors with better access to information; The Pharmaceutical Care Task Force sets up a special project that has pharmacists working directly with the clients they’re dispensing to, paying particular attention to the increased counselling of seniors.