November/December 2008 - Ontario College of Pharmacists

president’s message
Tracy Wiersema, R.Ph., B.Sc. Phm.
President
I
am beginning my year as President
of the Ontario College of Pharmacists
at a very exciting time for our
profession. This past summer we have
made a submission to the Health Professions
Regulatory Advisory Council
(HPRAC) regarding the scope of
practice for pharmacists, in which we
have proposed several changes to advance
the role of the pharmacist in patient
care. The regulation of pharmacy
technicians is also becoming more of a
reality as we work toward introduction
of legislation in 2009.
Most recently, HPRAC again has
called on pharmacy and other professions
to make submissions regarding
non-physician prescribing and use of
medications. All of these advancements
in our profession and in other
professions which are being explored
require and promote inter-professional
collaboration.
This is not about pharmacists or
pharmacy technicians finally getting
the recognition they deserve. This is
not about us working in isolation, or
trying to compete with other professions.
It is about a team of health professionals
working together to provide
better access and care to patients. The
Minister of Health has asked HPRAC
to “recommend mechanisms to facilitate
and support inter-professional collaboration
between health Colleges be-
Taking on an advanced scope of practice may seem
like a big change for pharmacists and pharmacy
technicians, but perhaps the biggest change will
be the inter-professional collaboration...
ginning with the development of standards
of practice and professional practice
guidelines where regulated health
professions share the same or similar
controlled acts, acknowledge that individual
health Colleges independently
govern their professions and establish
the competencies for their profession.”
The Minister has also asked that
HPRAC “take into account, when controlled
acts are shared, public expectations
for high quality services no matter
which health profession is responsible
for delivering care of treatment”.
Are we as a profession ready for
the next level of inter-professional collaboration?
If pharmacists are given
an increased scope of practice, are
we ready to document and collaborate
with physicians, nurses, and other
health care providers as to the actions
we take in patient care? Are we ready
to collaborate with technicians as they
receive a regulated scope of practice
and become our partners in dispensing
of medications?
It will take something on the part
of all professions to use our expertise
in improving the outcomes of our patients,
while giving up our reservations
about other professions, and making
them part of our team.
Taking on an advanced scope of
practice may seem like a big change
for pharmacists and pharmacy technicians,
but perhaps the biggest change
will be the inter-professional collaboration
which will be required to truly have
our expertise contribute to patient care
and improve patient outcomes.
4 pharmacyconnection • November/December 2008