Includes bibliographical references.

Pharmacists' professional identity: A foundational problem for our profession -- Pharmacists prescribed 7 times more antibiotics than physicians did for query urinary tract infections -- Pharmacy trojan horse -- A call to action to implement prescribing authority to pharmacists for hypertension management -- Missing the other half: Considering institutional experiential training for international pharmacy graduates in Ontario -- Antiplatelet, anticoagulant or both? a tool for pharmacists -- 2017 guidelines for the management of heart failure by pharmacists -- Barriers to a full scope of pharmacy practice in primary care: A systematic review of pharmacists' access to laboratory testing -- Medication management issues identified during home medication reviews for ambulatory community pharmacy patients.

[Article Title: Pharmacists’ professional identity: A foundational problem (and solution) for our profession / Ross T. Tsuyuki, p. 277-279]

Abstract: There has been a lot of talk about the paper by Gregory and Austin in the last issue of CPJ. In this paper, entitled “Pharmacists’ lack of profession-hood: Professional identity formation and its implications for practice,” the authors used an indirect method to measure professional identity in a sampling of pharmacists who were themselves patients or caregivers. They found that, when it mattered the most (i.e., the personal stakes were high), pharmacists did not identify themselves as pharmacists and did not participate in treatment decisions, suggesting a weak professional self-identity (or “profession-hood”).

https://doi.org/10.1177/1715163519866395

[Article Title: Pharmacists prescribed 7 times more antibiotics than physicians did for query urinary tract infection / Eugene Y. H. Yeung and Roxanna S. D. Mohammed, p. 281-283]

Abstract: As former pharmacists, we thank Beahm and colleagues for presenting their work at the recent Association of Medical Microbiology and Infectious Disease (AMMI) Canada conference and discussing the expanded role of pharmacist prescribing for patients with query urinary tract infection (UTI). However, we are alarmed that the study had 656 prescriptions initiated by pharmacists, compared to 94 prescriptions initiated by physicians. This was almost a 7-times difference in the number of prescriptions.

https://doi.org/10.1177/1715163519866223

[Article Title: Pharmacy’s Trojan horse / Neal M. Davies, p. 284]

Abstract: On June 13, 2019, the Québec Health Minister tabled Bill 31, a law that, when adopted, broadens the scope of pharmacists in Québec to provide vaccinations and have additional prescribing rights. Across Canada, pharmacists can now administer flu vaccines and impart enhanced patient care. This is a much-needed advancement in the profession, but it is not time to savour victory in this battle. It is time to stop patting ourselves on the back. Instead of celebrating a small conquest, let’s get our platoons to work because we are finally on the inside and need to mobilize our garrisons and begin the successive expansion towards our subsequent fortress.

https://doi.org/10.1177/1715163519865738

[Article Title: A call to action to implement prescribing authority to pharmacists for hypertension management / Nadia Khan, Alan Bell, Angelique Berg, Norm Campbell, Janusz Kaczorowski, Doreen Rabi, Ernesto L. Schiffrin, and Ross T. Tsuyuki, p. 285-287]

Abstract: Increased blood pressure is a leading risk for death and disability globally and in Canada. The World Health Organization HEARTS program outlines global best practices for cardiovascular disease prevention and uses hypertension as a key entry for managing noncommunicable disease and its risks in the health care system.
Enhancing primary care is one of the foundations to implementing the HEARTS and other interventions to prevent and control noncommunicable disease. One of the most important interventions in the HEARTS program is to use patient-centred team-based care. In Canada, pharmacists can play a critical role to enhance hypertension screening and management.

https://doi.org/10.1177/1715163519866144

[Article Title: Missing the other half: Considering institutional experiential training for international pharmacy graduates in Ontario / Deep Patel, p. 288-290]

Abstract: As of January 1, 2018, there were 41,661 licensed pharmacists in Canada, and Ontario had the largest pool of 14,618 pharmacists (just higher than one-third of the total). Ontario has also been the first choice for many international pharmacy graduates (IPGs) looking to become registered and practise in Canada. This is evident, because approximately half of Ontario’s pharmacists are from the international pool. For instance, out of the 798 pharmacists licensed in 2017 through Ontario College of Pharmacists (OCP), 440 were internationally trained (55%) (Box 1). Similar trends follow as we look back to the data from the past decade

https://doi.org/10.1177/1715163519857742

[Article Title: Antiplatelet, anticoagulant or both? A tool for pharmacists / Alyssa Schmode, Margaret Ackman and Tammy J. Bungard, p. 291-300]

Abstract: Patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) are at an increased risk for thrombosis, and anticoagulant therapy, preferably with a direct oral anticoagulant (DOAC) for most patients, is indicated for prevention of such events. In contrast, patients with acute coronary syndromes (ACSs) or atherosclerotic cerebrovascular accidents (CVAs) and those who have undergone percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) have an indication for antiplatelet therapy for prevention of arterial ischemic events. The risk/benefit of either antiplatelet or anticoagulant therapy alone is clearly defined in the literature. The dilemma is that the use of anticoagulation in AF has historically excluded patients with indications for dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT), and landmark ACS trials have likewise excluded patients requiring concurrent anticoagulation. Therefore, in the common situation where patients have indications for both antiplatelet and anticoagulant therapy, what should you do? How do you weigh the evidence for efficacy and safety (bleeding)?

https://doi.org/10.1177/1715163519866232

[Article Title: 2017 Guidelines for the management of heart failure by pharmacists / Lesley C. Beique, Justin A. Ezekowitz, Eileen O’Meara, Michael McDonald, and Sheri L. Koshman, p. 301-316]

Abstract: In Canada, the incidence and prevalence of heart failure (HF) is rising. Approximately 600,000 patients are living with HF and 50,000 more are diagnosed each year. The burden of HF is significant. Mortality rate is high (20% in 1 year, 50% in 5 years), and morbidity, such as hospitalizations, is frequent. The cost to the health care system is significant at $2.8 billion per year.

https://doi.org/10.1177/1715163519853307

[Article Title: arriers to a full scope of pharmacy practice in primary care: A systematic review of pharmacists’ access to laboratory testing / Jacqueline Donovan, Ross T. Tsuyuki, Yazid N. Al Hamarneh, and Beata Bajorek, p. 317-333]

Abstract: Primary care pharmacists’ scope of practice in laboratory testing is presently limited to certain jurisdictions and is often performed in a dependent fashion. As such, a full scope of pharmacy services is almost entirely unavailable to patients in the United States, the United Kingdom, New Zealand and Australia. Just as in the case for pharmacists prescribing, evidence indicates better patient outcomes when pharmacists can access/order laboratory tests, but more research needs to be done alongside the implementation of local guidelines and practice standards for pharmacists who practise in that realm. Patients around the world deserve to receive a full scope of pharmacists’ practice, and lack of access to laboratory testing is one of the major obstacles to this

https://doi.org/10.1177/1715163519865759

[Article Title: Medication management issues identified during home medication reviews for ambulatory community pharmacy patients / John Papastergiou, Mathew Luen, Simona Tencaliuc, Wilson Li, BScPhm, Bart van den Bemt, and Sherilyn Houle, p. 334-342]

Abstract: The health risks associated with poor medication practices in the home suggest that patients would benefit from home-based medication reviews that could detect and resolve these issues. However, remuneration for home visits often excludes ambulatory, nonhomebound patients. A subset of these patients have issues that cannot be adequately identified and resolved during the course of a typical pharmacy-based medication review.

https://doi.org/10.1177/1715163519861420

[Article Title: Federal Election 2019: Why you need to get involved and tell our story / Joelle Walker, p. 343-344]

Abstract: Next month, Canadians will be going to the polls to elect a new federal government. Federal investments in key health areas such as addressing the needs of Canada’s aging population, improving drug access for Canadians from coast to coast to coast and tackling the unabating opioid crisis will likely be on the agenda for all parties—issues that are front and centre for pharmacists, whether in hospital, primary care or community pharmacies.

https://doi.org/10.1177/1715163519867261