January/February 2004 - Ontario College of Pharmacists

EDITOR’S
MESSAGE
Della Croteau, R.Ph., B.S.P., M.C.Ed.
Deputy Registrar/Director of Programs
This first edition of Pharmacy
Connection for 2004 contains
new documentation guidelines
to assist pharmacists in keeping records
and promoting continuing care for their
patients. Pharmacists have traditionally
been very good record keepers when
dispensing prescriptions, but as we
move forward to more cognitive services
it is becoming more and more
These guidelines are timely as the
College’s president has recently formed
a task force to determine ways to optimize
the pharmacist’s role. If
pharmacists are to provide more cognitive
services, and receive recognition
and reimbursement for those services,
documentation is imperative. Even
now, continuity of care is being greatly
enhanced when pharmacists document
their interactions with patients,
physicians and other health care
providers.
Documentation will make issues
clear for the next pharmacist accessing
the patient’s profile or even for the
same pharmacist if he/she is trying to
recall interactions which occurred
weeks or months ago.
Regular documenting will be a
challenge for many pharmacists as we
are all used to giving advice to one
patient, then quickly moving on to help
the next. Discuss documentation with
your colleagues and find ways or new
structures that will help you remember
... as we move forward to more cognitive services, it is becoming
more and more important for pharmacists to document dialogue
and other information.
and information around symptoms and
diagnosis that will help our practices
become that much more effective. But
access to more information will in turn
necessitate that we better document
key information, our recommendations
for improving outcomes, the actions
that we take, and the outcomes of the
therapy.
The Standards of Practice Working
Group is releasing these guidelines
knowing that pharmacists will need
time to become comfortable with
regular practice of documenting interactions
and recommendations. The
Working Group trusts that these documentation
guidelines will be embedded
into the Standards of Practice — as an
integral standard for all pharmacists.
Upcoming District
Meetings
You will also see on page 16 that
Council is planning cross-province
district meetings starting in March and
running until June. I hope to have the
opportunity to meet many of you and to
discuss the current topics affecting our
profession.
I wish you the best for 2004.
important for pharmacists to document
dialogue and other information.
The Standards of Practice Working
Group mentioned documentation
several times in the current Standards of
Practice. In response to queries from
pharmacists about what and how to
document, the Working Group has
developed these guidelines to assist you.
and easily document the key information
necessary to continuity of care that
you exchange with your patients.
The task force is considering the
role of the pharmacist in monitoring
drug therapy and collaborating with
physicians and other health care
providers. If this happens, we will have
a new level of access to patient records
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Pharmacy Connection January • February 2004