Includes bibliographical references.

The evolution of pharmacy practice research-Part II: Time to join the rest of the world -- Why are we limiting access to opioid therapies? -- Cross-Canada updates -- Medication safety expertise at your fingertips: Medication incident analysis knowledge mobilization tool -- Case finding for urinary incontinence and falls in older adults at community pharmacies -- Lessons learned from 3 attempts to use data sources to evaluate pharmacist prescribing in Ontario -- Travelers' diarrhea: Clinical practice guidelines for pharmacists -- Pharmacists' lack of profession-hood: Professional identity formation and its implications for practice -- Pharmacists prescribing and care improves cardiovascular risk, but is it cost-effective? A cost-effectiveness analysis of the RxEACH study.

[Article Title: The evolution of pharmacy practice research—Part II: Time to join the rest of the world / Christine Bond and Ross T. Tsuyuki, p. 219-220]

Abstract: Pharmacy is a science-based degree, pharmacists are the scientists in the High Street, pharmacists are the experts in medicines. These phrases are ones with which, as pharmacists, we are all familiar and of which we should be proud. Pharmacists are involved in the development of new medicines, making existing medicines better and making sure that the medicines we have are used well. This continuum of the input of pharmacists into the development and use of medicines, the mainstay of maintaining health in today’s 21st century, is well documented in the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain’s 2014 publication New Medicines, Better Medicines, Better Use of Medicines and Canada’s Blueprint for Pharmacy. For unless we continue to use our scientific knowledge to underpin these 3 tenets of health care, then our central role will diminish in the future. One of the important things that these documents has done was to include what we often refer to as “pharmacy practice research” as part of the continuum of science that underpins our practice. But in fact, the pharmacy practice research components could also have been referred to using more universally recognized terms such as clinical sciences, applied health sciences or health services research.

https://doi.org/10.1177/1715163519852914

[Article Title: Why are we limiting access to opioid agonist therapies? / Jaris Swidrovich, p. 221-222]

Abstract: Opioid use disorder does not discriminate against social class, ethnicity, geographic location or anything else and could potentially affect anyone. While pharmacists and pharmacies should always offer opioid agonist therapies, Canada’s opioid crisis provides an even stronger impetus to participate in the dispensing of such therapies. Like diabetes, hypertension and mental illnesses, substance use disorders are complex medical diseases worthy of and likely to respond to medical treatment with opioid agonist therapy. It is unlikely to find a pharmacy in Canada that does not dispense evidence-based pharmacotherapy for people living with diabetes, hypertension or mental illnesses, so why do many pharmacies not dispense evidence-based pharmacotherapy to people living with opioid use disorders? This practice of selectivity, in terms of disease states that a pharmacy will or will not dispense medication for, is in complete contradiction to our profession’s code of ethics.

https://doi.org/10.1177/1715163519852973

[Article Title: Medication safety expertise at your fingertips: Medication Incident Analysis Knowledge Mobilization Tool / Edmond Chiu, Certina Ho, and Roger Cheng, p. 223-227]

Abstract: Medication safety is a continual priority in health care. One of the main principles in medication safety work is shared learning among health care professionals. The Institute for Safe Medication Practices Canada (ISMP Canada) publishes Safety Bulletins that provide education and include descriptions of reported medication incidents, contributing factors and recommendations. Seventeen years’ worth of safety bulletins have been published, and this wealth of information continues to grow. It would be ideal if such medication safety shared expertise could be accessible at your fingertips and at the point of care.

https://doi.org/10.1177/1715163519852972

[Article Title: Case finding for urinary incontinence and falls in older adults at community pharmacies / Eric Duong, Yazid N. Al Hamarneh, Ross T. Tsuyuki, Adrian Wagg, Kathleen F. Hunter, Jane Schulz, Margaret Spencer and Cheryl A. Sadowski, p.228-233]

Abstract: In Canada, the number of older adults aged 65 years and over is growing more rapidly than other age groups. This is partly explained by increases in life expectancy due to improvements in health care. However, it is debatable whether extended life expectancy is always associated with improved quality of life.
Older adults are prone to various geriatric syndromes that lead to a decline in quality of life and an increase in social isolation. Common geriatric syndromes include falls and urinary incontinence (UI). Nearly a quarter of older Canadians fall each year, often because of a medical condition, medication or behavioural or environmental factor. The consequences of falls can be severe, and falls are the leading cause of injury-related hospitalization among seniors. Likewise, more than half of Canadian seniors experience 1 or more lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS), with 29% of Canadian women and 5% of men reporting urinary incontinence. Both falls and UI are associated with impaired physical, social and emotional well-being; add significant costs to personal care expenses; and also have an impact on families, friends and care providers. For example, there are interventions defined as caregiver-dependent approaches, which include toileting assistance or cueing.

https://doi.org/10.1177/1715163519852378

[Article Title: Lessons learned from 3 attempts to use data sources to evaluate pharmacist prescribing in Ontario / Lisa M. McCarthy, Elizabeth A. Bojarski, Nancy M. Waite, and Lisa R. Dolovich, p. 234-240]

Abstract: Recognizing their unique, widely accessible position in community pharmacies and expertise in drug knowledge, Canadian and international community pharmacists have taken on expanded roles in health care delivery, including prescriptive authority. The level of authority varies per jurisdiction, broadly categorized as dependent or independent prescribing depending on the level of autonomy afforded to pharmacists. The former requires pharmacists’ prior authorization from a prescriber, known as “Collective Agreements” in the United States, “Supplementary Prescribing” in the United Kingdom, or “Delegated Authority” in Ontario, Canada. Independent prescribing, on the other hand, provides pharmacists with the legal authority to prescribe, and this can be in the form of managing existing drug therapy as well as initiating drug therapy.

https://doi.org/10.1177/1715163519852975

[Article Title: Travelers’ diarrhea: Clinical practice guidelines for pharmacists / Heidi V. J. Fernandes, Sherilyn K. D. Houle, Ajit Johal, and Mark S. Riddle, p. 241-250]

Abstract: Travelers’ diarrhea (TD) is the most common travel-related illness, affecting up to 70% of travelers to certain destinations. Its etiology is predominantly bacterial, representing approximately 80% to 90% of illnesses, including diarrheagenic Escherichia coli, Salmonella, Shigella and Campylobacter species, but it can also be caused by parasites, such as Giardia and Cryptosporidium, and viruses, such as norovirus. Opportunity costs, changes to trip itineraries and seeking medical care abroad are just some of the consequences that can result from a bout of TD. Emerging data have affected the recommendations for the prevention and treatment of TD, resulting in the publication of a set of guidelines for the condition in a 2017 supplement to the Journal of Travel Medicine. As highly accessible experts in pharmacotherapy, pharmacists are well positioned to address travel-related concerns, particularly regarding TD, at both the prescription counter and over-the-counter (OTC) aisle. Pharmacists can draw from the guidelines to ensure patients are counselled on safe and appropriate antibiotic therapy during international travel and can direct patients to important nonprescription products supported by the guidelines and provide advice on their safe and effective use. This article summarizes the key recommendations from the 2017 guidelines of interest to practising community pharmacists. Readers requiring additional information are encouraged to consult the full guideline publication.

https://doi.org/10.1177/1715163519853308

[Article Title: Pharmacists’ lack of profession-hood: Professional identity formation and its implications for practice / Paul Gregory, and Zubin Austin, p. 251-256]

Abstract: Understanding the internalized, psychological sense of being a professional may provide important insight into understanding pharmacists’ behaviours and attitudes in practice.

https://doi.org/10.1177/1715163519846534

[Article Title: Pharmacist prescribing and care improves cardiovascular risk, but is it cost-effective? A cost-effectiveness analysis of the RxEACH study / Yazid N. Al Hamarneh, Karissa Johnston, Carlo A. Marra, and Ross T. Tsuyuki, p. 257-266]

Abstract: The RxEACH randomized trial demonstrated that community pharmacist prescribing and care reduced the risk for cardiovascular (CV) events by 21% compared to usual care.

https://doi.org/10.1177/1715163519851822

[Article Title: Cross-Canada Updates / p. 267-269]

Abstract: Canada’s pharmacy associations work together on key, critical issues affecting the profession in support of strong associations, exceptional pharmacists and healthy Canadians. This CPJ feature highlights some of the work happening at pharmacy associations across the country. In this month’s issue, many of our Organizational Members have focused on opioid/addiction initiatives for their associations.

https://doi.org/10.1177/1715163519854047