From Barry's Bay (Ont.) This Week:
The shortage of health care professionals across the province has made it difficult for small rural hospitals to offer the services needed. For the past 18 months, for example, St. Francis Memorial Hospital in Barry’s Bay has been trying to find a pharmacist, without luck.
But it has now solved the problem by connecting with Northern Pharmacy Limited (a division of The North West Company), which offers telepharmacy services.
“A small hospital can safely operate a medication storage and distribution system for their patients under the management of a registered nurse,” says Joan Kuiack, Director of Patient Care Services. “However, the addition of a pharmacist offers an enhanced quality of care to our patients.”
A pharmacist has the expertise to look at the whole patient, his or her disease and relate the effectiveness of the medication they are receiving to their progress, she adds.
The hospital first contacted Kevin McDonald, manager of the hospital pharmacy telepharmacy program at Northern Pharmacy, about a year ago, but decided to try to organize a partnership with Renfrew Victoria Hospital for services of a pharmacist. ...more
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