The “sound” care provided by Howe Sound Pharmacy is thanks, in large part, to the highly capable and big-hearted pharmacy technicians who work there.
Members of the four-woman pharmacy tech team — Sarah Almquist, Aurora Doering, Wendy Martin and Stephanie Silano — were honoured with the Pharmacy Technician Initiatives award at this year’s Commitment to Care and Service Awards. The national awards program is hosted by Pharmacy Practice+, Canada’s leading pharmacy magazine. The Awards Gala took place on Monday, Nov. 24 at the Ritz-Carlton in Toronto.
“Every one of these women puts patients first by expanding their knowledge regarding drug preparation and distribution procedures and then expanding the boundaries of good practice in their area to support pharmacists,” said nominator, pharmacist and owner John Shaske.
Thanks to a recent UBC study, funded by the Canadian Foundation for Pharmacy’s Innovation Fund, there’s proof of the positive impact on patient care. The study documented pharmacist interventions at Howe Sound to evaluate the impact on health care utilization. The 4,000 patient encounters revealed many drug therapy problems, which pharmacists were able to solve with education, new medication and changes to drug quantities. The efforts had a tangible positive effect on patient care and healthcare system costs, preventing more than 2,500 doctor visits and possibly saving one patient from kidney failure as a result of unsafe use of ibuprofen.
These impressive results are directly related to the leadership of the pharmacy tech team. The drug prep and documentation area have been organized to maximize efficiency. Data entry is being done by qualified medical scribes, increasing speed and accuracy. The techs have an impressive level of pharmacological knowledge, which gives them helpful insight into what the pharmacists and, ultimately, the patients, want and need. And they’re training the pharmacy assistants to provide a similar level of high quality, professional service.
The team’s commitment to ongoing learning and specialization, including utilizing their skills to their full scope of practice, is touching every area of the business and helping the pharmacy achieve the impressive outcomes detailed in the UBC study even during a time of budget constraints.
“They work side-by-side with the pharmacists,” said Shaske. “With the support of the assistants they can take the time to obtain demographic information from the patient and then hand the patient over to the pharmacists, allowing the pharmacists to get close to the ultimate goal of spending 100 per cent of their time providing cognitive services.”
