PHARMACY PHARMACY - Ontario College of Pharmacists

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Letters Regulation of Pharmacy Technicians Unnecessary if pharmacist focuses on cognitive services Dear Editor, In regards to the potential regulation of pharmacy technicians, I feel that the resources of the OCP would yield more benefits in the area of employer and pharmacist education. In many pharmacies, adequate staff is not available and the pharmacist finds him/herself performing non-cognitive duties. In this case, educating employers regarding the standards of practice and the need to provide adequate staff would create an environment more conducive to proper patient care. It is in the public interest for employers to shoulder their share of responsibility in providing sufficient staffing to ensure proper patient care. At the other end, where staffing is adequate, the pharmacist must be educated that his/her responsibility is to provide cognitive services for patients and not to focus time on technical functions. If every technician focused on ringing in sales, stocking shelves and counting pills, there would be no time for them to be doing anything else, and hence no need for their regulation. Doctors do just fine without having their secretaries regulated by any College. Clearly, member resources would be better spent and the public better served by getting pharmacists off the cash registers and into counselling rooms. Sincerely, Brandon Tanebaum, B.Sc.Phm. Dear Mr Tanebaum, The proposal to regulate pharmacy technicians currently under study is designed to provide for staff support in the pharmacy when it is deemed necessary to support the pharmacist in the delivery of pharmaceutical services according to the standards established by this College. To be effective, it requires proper use of pharmacist staff performing tasks for which they are the most qualified and delegating those tasks to others who are trained and qualified to perform them. This is the premise on which we are looking to expand the scope of a pharmacy technician’s responsibilities. Our Council is concerned that any expansion of the pharmacy technician’s role be considered in the context of how the pharmacist will use the time that is freed up. It should not be in the performance of clerical duties but rather in use of his/her expertise to better manage patient health care needs. Bernie Des Roches, Ph.D. Manager, Pharmacy Technician Programs Pharmacists have "nothing to fear" about herbals & should educate themselves Dear Editor, Regarding the article Herbal & Alternative Products: the dialogue continues (Pharmacy Connection, Vol 7, No 4, Jul/Aug 2000), I wish to applaud the cautious and conservative approach espoused by the author; however, that same approach belies a lack of knowledge and a denial factor found in certain health care practitioners. Canadian pharmacists who carry the most commonly used herbs in their pharmacies have nothing to fear if they take the time to educate themselves and have in their possession some of the better references, such as Herbs. Everyday Reference for Health Professionals published by the Canadian Pharmacists’ Association or Natural Medicines. Comprehensive Database, compiled by the editors of Pharmacist’s Letter/Prescriber’s Letter. By doing that, they would realize there are specific herbals which are appropriate for mild to moderate depression, for benign prostatic hypertrophy; also Ginseng plants do come in several varieties, one of which reportedly lowers blood pressure and is being studied in a Canadian hospital setting to treat diabetes. Nghia Truong, Doct. Pharm. Kemptville, ON 4 PHARMACY CONNECTION Nov/Dec 2000
Can I date my "patients"? sexual abuse prevention plan questioned Dear Editor, I have read the article “Document provides guidelines for interaction with patients” on page 12 of Pharmacy Connection, Sep/Oct 2000. I am concerned with the sentence, “This Plan applies to conduct with all patients, irrespective of their consent for a pharmacist's conduct to be otherwise.” This is troublesome for me. I live in a small town. I assume that there are two definitions for a patient. The first one is a person for whom I have filled prescription(s). The second one is a person to whom I have provided pharmaceutical care. So, if I counsel a person on how to use a cough/cold medication, I cannot date this person. Odds are, I have counselled most people in this town on cough/cold products. I remembered reading in the November/December 1995 issue of Pharmacy Connection an article titled, “Sexual Abuse Prevention Plan and Dating Guidelines,” which is on page 19-20. This article gave an example of a waiver that allowed a pharmacist to date a patient. Is this waiver still valid? Should I move to a city in order to protect my license? Yours truly, Roman Moretti, B.Sc.Pharm. (Please see Q & A below for response) 12345678901234567890 Q & A 12345678901234567890 12345678901234567890 12345678901234567890 12345678901234567890 12345678901234567890 12345678901234567890 12345678901234567890 Patient Relations 12345678901234567890 12345678901234567890 12345678901234567890 12345678901234567890 12345678901234567890 Tina Langlois B.A., L.L.B., CAE Manager Legal Services/ Patient Relations Programs Can I date my "patients" if I have them sign a waiver? The Regulated Health Professions Act (RHPA) makes it an act of professional misconduct to engage in sexual contact with patients regardless of consent. The Patient Relations Committee (PRC) of the College defines a patient as someone for whom you have a patient profile. This definition of "patient" was chosen because pharmacists cannot be expected to remember exactly whom they counselled on nonprescription products and whether their names were recorded or not. In the situation you describe, this could include a person for whom you have filled a prescription or for whom you have provided pharmaceutical care, depending upon your policies regarding documentation. You are correct in stating that in 1995 the Patient Relations Committee issued a waiver that attempted to inform the patient of the issues regarding confidentiality and deal with the particular concerns of practitioners in remote areas who wished to commence personal relationships with patients. It should be noted that even at that time, it was stated that the waiver did not make the relationship risk free. Five years later the issue of consent as it relates to these provisions of the RHPA is the subject of court action and we are awaiting the court’s clarification. The College has also asked the government to clarify this issue as part of its five-year review of the RHPA because of the uncertainty of practitioners. Until we have more answers, there is no real way, short of severing your patient relationship prior to commencing a personal one, to absolutely avoid the application of the Act. We will keep members advised as we are made aware of developments in this area. PHARMACY CONNECTION Nov/Dec 2000 5
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Page 3 and 4: a Message from the Editor Della Cro
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Page 17 and 18: services would be appealing. Of the
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