March 8th to 12th is Pharmacy Awareness Week. This year’s theme, Envision Tomorrow Today, is an opportunity for pharmacists and pharmacy technicians to raise awareness about their professions and how their future roles in acute and community settings are expanding.
“Pharmacists and pharmacy technicians are an essential part of a patient’s health care team,” said Jac Kreut, VIHA Board Chair. “These health experts are invaluable to ensuring safe and effective medication use and distribution in hospitals and community settings across VIHA.”
Pharmacists do much more than dispense medications - they are essential in verifying appropriate medication orders and performing medication reconciliation to prevent medication errors. Pharmacists participate in medical rounds with physicians to monitor patient response to medications, they work with physicians to ensure they have accurate drug information and participate in discharge planning to educate patients on how to properly take their medications as they transition back to the community.
“Pharmacists have become an integral part of the interdisciplinary health care team,” said Dr. Rajeev Pai, VIHA Geriatrician. “They play a valuable role in the education of patients and their families in medication compliance, drug interactions and drug /disease interactions, all of which can contribute to adverse outcomes should medications not be taken properly.”
The role of pharmacists is changing to involve more direct patient care, said Dr. Richard Bachand Manager of Clinical Programs, Department of Pharmacy, VIHA.
“Clinical pharmacists establish and maintain an independent direct relationship with, and responsibility to, the patient,” said Dr. Bachand. “Their role is to optimize drug therapy to provide measurable health care outcomes in collaboration with physicians, nurses and other health care practitioners.”
Pharmacy technicians perform important work in the dispensary, entering and preparing medications orders, managing drug inventory and mixing drug combinations for chemotherapy and IV medications. Some technicians also assist research pharmacists at VIHA who are participating in clinical drug trials. All hospital pharmacy technicians have received their training from an accredited college program and are working toward becoming licensed by the B.C. College of Pharmacists.
“Pharmacy technicians help form the backbone of pharmacy distribution services,” said Winnie Lam, Manager, Pharmacy Tertiary Care, VIHA. “Once regulated, pharmacy technicians will work toward expanding their role in the dispensary, giving pharmacists more time to work directly with patients and their health care teams.”
Pharmacy Awareness Week provides British Columbians and Canadians an opportunity to celebrate pharmacists and pharmacy technicians and honour the excellent work they do in healthcare and community settings every day.
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Contact:
Val Wilson, VIHA Communications
250-739-6303