From the Windsor Star:
Seniors whose prescriptions are covered by the provincial drug plan could lose perks like one-on-one consultations if the province slashes "professional allowances" -- or cash rebates -- that pharmacists receive from generic drug companies to stock their products.
Local pharmacists are fighting proposed changes to the Ontario Drug Benefit program which they say will slash their revenues and force them to cut back services that seniors and the disabled depend on.
On one side is the Ontario government, which has been arguing for years that "murky" multimillion-dollar agreements between drug manufacturers and pharmacies are inappropriate, wasting health care dollars while gouging the prices of generic drugs.
On the other side are pharmacists who say they don't receive enough government funding and have to rely on rebates from drug makers as their only significant source of revenue.
The crux of the issue is the sale of generic drugs, which are widely prescribed and generally cheaper than brand-name meds. ...more
Showing posts with label Ontario. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ontario. Show all posts
Monday, January 25, 2010
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Drugstores poised to become true health-care hubs
From the Globe and Mail:
In a big-box world, the role of pharmacists seems increasingly humble. Camped out at the back of chain drugstores, counting out pills and providing occasional advice on which over-the-counter cold medication to take, they often seem more like clerks than health-care professionals.
That's the case in Ontario, at least, which has lagged behind other provinces in allowing pharmacists to make good use of their training.
But now Dalton McGuinty's government is positioned to leap to the front of the pack in transforming the profession.
Not only has it empowered pharmacists to perform certain services traditionally restricted to doctors - such as giving vaccinations and prescribing some medications - but it has the chance to provide a groundbreaking incentive to take on those tasks, turning pharmacies into health-care hubs.
Before Christmas, the Ontario legislature unanimously passed Bill 179, which permits pharmacists (along with nurses and nurse practitioners) to perform services normally limited to doctors - services they have already begun to provide in other provinces, including British Columbia, Quebec, Alberta and New Brunswick. ...more
In a big-box world, the role of pharmacists seems increasingly humble. Camped out at the back of chain drugstores, counting out pills and providing occasional advice on which over-the-counter cold medication to take, they often seem more like clerks than health-care professionals.
That's the case in Ontario, at least, which has lagged behind other provinces in allowing pharmacists to make good use of their training.
But now Dalton McGuinty's government is positioned to leap to the front of the pack in transforming the profession.
Not only has it empowered pharmacists to perform certain services traditionally restricted to doctors - such as giving vaccinations and prescribing some medications - but it has the chance to provide a groundbreaking incentive to take on those tasks, turning pharmacies into health-care hubs.
Before Christmas, the Ontario legislature unanimously passed Bill 179, which permits pharmacists (along with nurses and nurse practitioners) to perform services normally limited to doctors - services they have already begun to provide in other provinces, including British Columbia, Quebec, Alberta and New Brunswick. ...more
Thursday, December 17, 2009
'It's ruining people's lives': province looks at restricting Oxy
From the Sault (Ont.) Star:
First, it takes away the pain. Then it takes over your life.
Pharmacist Jon MacDonald has seen the astonishing rise in opioid painkillers such as Oxycontin over the last decade, and welcomes changes the provincial government wants to introduce to how they're prescribed and dispensed.
"If doctors are tracked, and know they're tracked, they'll prescribe a little more responsibly. And the same for pharmacists," said MacDonald, operator of the Medicine Shoppe on Second Line West, who until this year was regional spokesperson for the Ontario Pharmacists' Asoociation.
Ontario's Health Ministry wants to use a computer tracking system that would monitor how much of a drug is going out and send alerts if a prescription is received two days in a row.
MacDonald said it shouldn't be difficult, as anyone with a health card in Ontario is already entered into a database when they get prescriptions filled. The missing link right now is that nobody is actually monitoring what's going on, he said. ...more
First, it takes away the pain. Then it takes over your life.
Pharmacist Jon MacDonald has seen the astonishing rise in opioid painkillers such as Oxycontin over the last decade, and welcomes changes the provincial government wants to introduce to how they're prescribed and dispensed.
"If doctors are tracked, and know they're tracked, they'll prescribe a little more responsibly. And the same for pharmacists," said MacDonald, operator of the Medicine Shoppe on Second Line West, who until this year was regional spokesperson for the Ontario Pharmacists' Asoociation.
Ontario's Health Ministry wants to use a computer tracking system that would monitor how much of a drug is going out and send alerts if a prescription is received two days in a row.
MacDonald said it shouldn't be difficult, as anyone with a health card in Ontario is already entered into a database when they get prescriptions filled. The missing link right now is that nobody is actually monitoring what's going on, he said. ...more
Friday, December 04, 2009
Pharmacies blamed for dirty needles
From the Ottawa Sun:
Ottawa’s pharmacists are frustrated that they have been blamed for the number of dirty needles being collected on the city’s streets.
The complaint, which will be tabled at City Hall Thursday, stems from a briefing note by the city’s former medical officer of health, Dr. David Salisbury, to Coun. Diane Holmes on March 12, which states “legitimate purchases from pharmacies ... represent a significant portion of the needles on the street.”
This year, the city has collected 149,347 more dirty needles than the clean ones it’s given out to drug users, raising questions as to where they are coming from.
Salisbury also speculated to the Sun last year the needle source could be a syringe black market or Hull needle distributors.
The Ottawa-Carleton Pharmacists’ Association claims there’s no proof behind Salisbury’s assertion that pharmacies are a source of the needles. ...more
Ottawa’s pharmacists are frustrated that they have been blamed for the number of dirty needles being collected on the city’s streets.
The complaint, which will be tabled at City Hall Thursday, stems from a briefing note by the city’s former medical officer of health, Dr. David Salisbury, to Coun. Diane Holmes on March 12, which states “legitimate purchases from pharmacies ... represent a significant portion of the needles on the street.”
This year, the city has collected 149,347 more dirty needles than the clean ones it’s given out to drug users, raising questions as to where they are coming from.
Salisbury also speculated to the Sun last year the needle source could be a syringe black market or Hull needle distributors.
The Ottawa-Carleton Pharmacists’ Association claims there’s no proof behind Salisbury’s assertion that pharmacies are a source of the needles. ...more
Prescription drug kiosks get OK in Ontario
From CBC News:
People in Ontario will soon be able to buy prescription drugs through an ATM-like self-serve machine now that Bill 179 has been passed in the Ontario legislature.
PCA Services Inc. of Oakville, Ont., plans to roll out hundreds of kiosks across the province in places like malls and grocery stores once regulations are in place, which the company hopes will be within three months.
The kiosks, which have been in use in a handful of Ontario hospitals for two years, will likely become as indispensable as bank machines and cellphones, particularly as governments look for ways to cut health-care costs, said Peter Suma, president of PCA Services, which developed the machine.
"It will be like a cellphone. It will free you from locational dependence," Suma said in an interview with CBC News.
He used an example of going to a grocery store late at night, only to find the pharmacy section is closed. In the future, a customer will just head over to a PharmaTrust machine, as they're called, feed the doctor's prescription through a slot and pick up the phone for a video conference with a pharmacist. ...more
People in Ontario will soon be able to buy prescription drugs through an ATM-like self-serve machine now that Bill 179 has been passed in the Ontario legislature.
PCA Services Inc. of Oakville, Ont., plans to roll out hundreds of kiosks across the province in places like malls and grocery stores once regulations are in place, which the company hopes will be within three months.
The kiosks, which have been in use in a handful of Ontario hospitals for two years, will likely become as indispensable as bank machines and cellphones, particularly as governments look for ways to cut health-care costs, said Peter Suma, president of PCA Services, which developed the machine.
"It will be like a cellphone. It will free you from locational dependence," Suma said in an interview with CBC News.
He used an example of going to a grocery store late at night, only to find the pharmacy section is closed. In the future, a customer will just head over to a PharmaTrust machine, as they're called, feed the doctor's prescription through a slot and pick up the phone for a video conference with a pharmacist. ...more
Saturday, August 08, 2009
Pharmacist at a loss
From the Sudbury Star:
Pharmacist Jason Keeping is planning on having a minimal supply of OxyContin at his pharmacies after being hit twice by robbers in the last few months.
Keeping's staff at Hanmer Medical Pharmacy was still reeling Thursday from being held up at gunpoint the day before. Keeping's other operation, Lalonde Pharmacy in Capreol, was robbed May 5.
"It's just terrible," Keeping said. "I'm sure it's going to get worse. Every pharmacy seems to be at risk right now, especially smaller pharmacies."
Five pharmacies have been held up for OxyContin since early July in Greater Sudbury.
Aside from being a safety risk for Keeping and his staff, being robbed takes a financial toll. The pills are expensive and insurance doesn't cover everything. It also creates a mountain of work. ...more
Pharmacist Jason Keeping is planning on having a minimal supply of OxyContin at his pharmacies after being hit twice by robbers in the last few months.
Keeping's staff at Hanmer Medical Pharmacy was still reeling Thursday from being held up at gunpoint the day before. Keeping's other operation, Lalonde Pharmacy in Capreol, was robbed May 5.
"It's just terrible," Keeping said. "I'm sure it's going to get worse. Every pharmacy seems to be at risk right now, especially smaller pharmacies."
Five pharmacies have been held up for OxyContin since early July in Greater Sudbury.
Aside from being a safety risk for Keeping and his staff, being robbed takes a financial toll. The pills are expensive and insurance doesn't cover everything. It also creates a mountain of work. ...more
Thursday, August 06, 2009
Ontario’s law curbing the cost of generic drugs sparks changes
From CMAJ:
Ontario shook up the world of generic drug pricing across the country 3 years ago when it passed Bill 102, the Transparent Drug System for Patients Act.
In turn, the executive officer of Ontario’s $4-billion-a-year drug benefit plan saw her own life disrupted.
In late April, Helen Stevenson was flanked by plainclothes Ontario Provincial Police bodyguards when she delivered a speech to IMS Health Canada. It was the day after the province announced a series of legal actions and imposed penalties totaling $33.8 million in a crackdown on violations of the Act.
Stevenson confirms that her need for security continues because of threats made in connection with her job.
For complicated reasons, Canadian prices for generic drugs — copies of brand-name drugs which have lost patent protection — are among the highest in the world (see Patented Medicine Prices Review Board, Non-Patented Prescription Drug Prices Reporting, 2006.) ...more
Ontario shook up the world of generic drug pricing across the country 3 years ago when it passed Bill 102, the Transparent Drug System for Patients Act.
In turn, the executive officer of Ontario’s $4-billion-a-year drug benefit plan saw her own life disrupted.
In late April, Helen Stevenson was flanked by plainclothes Ontario Provincial Police bodyguards when she delivered a speech to IMS Health Canada. It was the day after the province announced a series of legal actions and imposed penalties totaling $33.8 million in a crackdown on violations of the Act.
Stevenson confirms that her need for security continues because of threats made in connection with her job.
For complicated reasons, Canadian prices for generic drugs — copies of brand-name drugs which have lost patent protection — are among the highest in the world (see Patented Medicine Prices Review Board, Non-Patented Prescription Drug Prices Reporting, 2006.) ...more
Friday, June 26, 2009
A prescription for convenience
From the Globe and Mail:
Shortly after being named Ontario's Minister of Health and Long-term Care last summer, David Caplan was getting a routine eye exam at Toronto's Sunnybrook hospital when his wife, who works there as a nurse, asked him to look at a new drug-dispensing device.
“After my appointment, my wife said, ‘You've got to come check this out,' and she showed me the machine that was in place,” he said. “I thought it was a fantastic idea – it's new technology that a variety of companies could develop and support and it's a really innovative way of improving patient care.”
In a matter of minutes, Mr. Caplan's wife, Leigh, had accomplished what years of lobbying the Ontario government couldn't.
The machine that Mr. Caplan is referring to is the brainchild of an Oakville, Ont.-based startup called PCA Services Inc.
While its executives bristle at this description, their innovation, which they call PharmaTrust, is akin to a high-tech vending machine (more closely resembling an ABM) for pharmaceutical drugs. ...more
Shortly after being named Ontario's Minister of Health and Long-term Care last summer, David Caplan was getting a routine eye exam at Toronto's Sunnybrook hospital when his wife, who works there as a nurse, asked him to look at a new drug-dispensing device.
“After my appointment, my wife said, ‘You've got to come check this out,' and she showed me the machine that was in place,” he said. “I thought it was a fantastic idea – it's new technology that a variety of companies could develop and support and it's a really innovative way of improving patient care.”
In a matter of minutes, Mr. Caplan's wife, Leigh, had accomplished what years of lobbying the Ontario government couldn't.
The machine that Mr. Caplan is referring to is the brainchild of an Oakville, Ont.-based startup called PCA Services Inc.
While its executives bristle at this description, their innovation, which they call PharmaTrust, is akin to a high-tech vending machine (more closely resembling an ABM) for pharmaceutical drugs. ...more
Firm has high hopes for blockbuster drug
From the St. Catharines (Ont.) Standard:
The clinical setting inside Biolyse Pharma Corp. resembles the space-plague movie The Andromeda Strain.
Except this St. Catharines firm is developing what could be a real miracle drug for a horrible earthly disease.
In lab tests, the as-yet-unamed drug so far seems to kill all cancer cells; if it continues to perform as well in human trials, it could revolutionize cancer treatment, generate billions of dollars for Biolyse and create hundreds of new jobs in St. Catharines.
Biolyse executive vice-president John Fulton is more blunt: “I’ve heard talk in the labs referring to this as the Holy Grail of cancer drugs.” ...more
The clinical setting inside Biolyse Pharma Corp. resembles the space-plague movie The Andromeda Strain.
Except this St. Catharines firm is developing what could be a real miracle drug for a horrible earthly disease.
In lab tests, the as-yet-unamed drug so far seems to kill all cancer cells; if it continues to perform as well in human trials, it could revolutionize cancer treatment, generate billions of dollars for Biolyse and create hundreds of new jobs in St. Catharines.
Biolyse executive vice-president John Fulton is more blunt: “I’ve heard talk in the labs referring to this as the Holy Grail of cancer drugs.” ...more
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Researchers work to erase women's hormone-replacement fear
From the Ottawa Citizen:
A research team led by Ottawa scientists is creating and testing synthetic hormones to take the fear out of hormone-replacement therapy for menopausal women.
There's a lot at stake, from the well-being of women to a pharmaceutical market worth billions a year.
"There are plenty of women who would like to have such a drug," said Carleton University Professor Jim Wright, a chemist.
Wright and the research team, led by Tony Durst at the University of Ottawa, have just received a $267,000 research grant from the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation. It could lead to the creation of a blockbuster new drug.
About a decade ago, hormone-replacement therapy (HRT) was touted as a magic bullet for many menopausal women. HRT boosts hormone levels and helps to reduce the symptoms of menopause, from hot flashes to osteoporosis, the brittle-bone disease that can be deadly because it leads to serious fractures. About one in three women who sustain hip fractures from osteoporosis die within a year. ...more
A research team led by Ottawa scientists is creating and testing synthetic hormones to take the fear out of hormone-replacement therapy for menopausal women.
There's a lot at stake, from the well-being of women to a pharmaceutical market worth billions a year.
"There are plenty of women who would like to have such a drug," said Carleton University Professor Jim Wright, a chemist.
Wright and the research team, led by Tony Durst at the University of Ottawa, have just received a $267,000 research grant from the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation. It could lead to the creation of a blockbuster new drug.
About a decade ago, hormone-replacement therapy (HRT) was touted as a magic bullet for many menopausal women. HRT boosts hormone levels and helps to reduce the symptoms of menopause, from hot flashes to osteoporosis, the brittle-bone disease that can be deadly because it leads to serious fractures. About one in three women who sustain hip fractures from osteoporosis die within a year. ...more
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Ontario tests paperless prescription system in two communities
From the Canadian Press:
Barely legible handwritten prescriptions could become a pharmacists' headache of the past in Ontario as the provincial government on Tuesday introduced its first phase of a paperless prescription process.
The system, called ePrescribing, lets doctors forgo handwritten prescriptions, instead sending instructions to pharmacists electronically through a private computer network.
Doctors say patient safety will be enhanced because the prescriptions will be legible and clear.
"Messy handwriting, it's a huge concern," said Dr. Lewis O'Brien, a family physician in Sault Ste. Marie, one of two communities testing the electronic prescription system.
"It's a natural occurrence of people that are too busy and trying to do too much."
Instead of filling out a prescription on a notepad, a specially designed program allows O'Brien to complete a prescription in the patient's medical chart that also contains the patient's medical history. A safety mechanism warns physicians if they prescribe unsafe drug combinations or inadvertently try to prescribe medication that a patient is allergic to. ...more
Barely legible handwritten prescriptions could become a pharmacists' headache of the past in Ontario as the provincial government on Tuesday introduced its first phase of a paperless prescription process.
The system, called ePrescribing, lets doctors forgo handwritten prescriptions, instead sending instructions to pharmacists electronically through a private computer network.
Doctors say patient safety will be enhanced because the prescriptions will be legible and clear.
"Messy handwriting, it's a huge concern," said Dr. Lewis O'Brien, a family physician in Sault Ste. Marie, one of two communities testing the electronic prescription system.
"It's a natural occurrence of people that are too busy and trying to do too much."
Instead of filling out a prescription on a notepad, a specially designed program allows O'Brien to complete a prescription in the patient's medical chart that also contains the patient's medical history. A safety mechanism warns physicians if they prescribe unsafe drug combinations or inadvertently try to prescribe medication that a patient is allergic to. ...more
Ont. health-care professionals to get new powers under government bill
From the Canadian Press:
Ontario wants to broaden the scope of practice for many health-care professionals as part of a strategy to address the chronic shortage of doctors, proposing new rules that would allow nurse practitioners to set broken bones and give dental hygienists the power to write prescriptions and sell medicine.
Under legislation introduced Monday, dentists would be able to fill prescriptions, pharmacists would be allowed to write refills for prescriptions, and physiotherapists would be given the power to order X-rays and treat injuries.
The proposed changes will make Ontario's health-care system more efficient and more accessible, Premier Dalton McGuinty said.
"It will free up doctors to do those kinds of things which only doctors can do," McGuinty said. "There's a number of things doctors are doing on their own right now that we think other health-care professionals can do as well." ...more
Ontario wants to broaden the scope of practice for many health-care professionals as part of a strategy to address the chronic shortage of doctors, proposing new rules that would allow nurse practitioners to set broken bones and give dental hygienists the power to write prescriptions and sell medicine.
Under legislation introduced Monday, dentists would be able to fill prescriptions, pharmacists would be allowed to write refills for prescriptions, and physiotherapists would be given the power to order X-rays and treat injuries.
The proposed changes will make Ontario's health-care system more efficient and more accessible, Premier Dalton McGuinty said.
"It will free up doctors to do those kinds of things which only doctors can do," McGuinty said. "There's a number of things doctors are doing on their own right now that we think other health-care professionals can do as well." ...more
Drug Dispensing Machines May Change The Way You Fill Your Next Prescription
From City News Toronto:
Imagine being able to get your next prescription filled without having to go to a pharmacy. It's not such a bitter pill to swallow if you're in Ontario.
The government has introduced a bill that would allow you to receive your Rx from a special drug dispensing vending machine, making it easier to get your prescriptions renewed.
The idea would amend existing rules that require a pharmacist to be present when the pills are doled out. Under the new method, you'd run your prescription through a scanner (below), where a pharmacist would see it - and you'd see him or her via a video conferencing link and talk to them over a private closed circuit phone line. ...more
Imagine being able to get your next prescription filled without having to go to a pharmacy. It's not such a bitter pill to swallow if you're in Ontario.
The government has introduced a bill that would allow you to receive your Rx from a special drug dispensing vending machine, making it easier to get your prescriptions renewed.
The idea would amend existing rules that require a pharmacist to be present when the pills are doled out. Under the new method, you'd run your prescription through a scanner (below), where a pharmacist would see it - and you'd see him or her via a video conferencing link and talk to them over a private closed circuit phone line. ...more
Monday, May 11, 2009
Medication a defence for punching the boss
From the National Post:
A labour arbitrator has reversed the firing of a veteran elementary-school janitor who sucker punched his boss, ruling that an experimental arthritis drug the man was taking as part of a clinical trial helped trigger the angry outburst.
It may be the first time in a Canadian legal hearing that pharmaceutical adverse effects have been successfully invoked to justify violent behaviour.
The custodian, Alf Clayfield, had put in 22 years of generally exemplary service with an Ontario school board before the October incident with his manager.
He acted out of character partly because of the medicine's neurological side effects, the arbitrator said in replacing the dismissal with a three-month suspension.
Mr. Clayfield said the problems he attributes to the drug began with insomnia, headaches and dizziness. "I found that things that never bothered me before would irritate me very quickly," the Kitchener-Waterloo public school board employee said in an interview. ...more
A labour arbitrator has reversed the firing of a veteran elementary-school janitor who sucker punched his boss, ruling that an experimental arthritis drug the man was taking as part of a clinical trial helped trigger the angry outburst.
It may be the first time in a Canadian legal hearing that pharmaceutical adverse effects have been successfully invoked to justify violent behaviour.
The custodian, Alf Clayfield, had put in 22 years of generally exemplary service with an Ontario school board before the October incident with his manager.
He acted out of character partly because of the medicine's neurological side effects, the arbitrator said in replacing the dismissal with a three-month suspension.
Mr. Clayfield said the problems he attributes to the drug began with insomnia, headaches and dizziness. "I found that things that never bothered me before would irritate me very quickly," the Kitchener-Waterloo public school board employee said in an interview. ...more
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Key players implicated in scheme to boost generic drug profits
From the Globe and Mail:
Many of the largest players in Canada's generic drug industry have been implicated in an illegal scheme that involved wholesalers and pharmacies collecting inflated rebates by selling the same product over and over.
The Ontario government yesterday ordered seven of Canada's largest generic drug makers, four wholesalers and a retail pharmacy to reimburse the province a total of $33.8-million - the amount it alleges that patients were overcharged for generic prescription drugs.
"It's a multimillion-dollar abuse of the system," assistant deputy health minister Helen Stevenson said at a news conference yesterday.
The government alleges that wholesalers and retailers bought more drugs than they needed and resold the excess among themselves, collecting a rebate or "professional allowance" from the manufacturer on each transaction.
"We call that drug recycling," Ms. Stevenson said.
The full extent of the problem will not be known until the government completes forensic audits of other industry players, including retail pharmacies, she said. ...more
Many of the largest players in Canada's generic drug industry have been implicated in an illegal scheme that involved wholesalers and pharmacies collecting inflated rebates by selling the same product over and over.
The Ontario government yesterday ordered seven of Canada's largest generic drug makers, four wholesalers and a retail pharmacy to reimburse the province a total of $33.8-million - the amount it alleges that patients were overcharged for generic prescription drugs.
"It's a multimillion-dollar abuse of the system," assistant deputy health minister Helen Stevenson said at a news conference yesterday.
The government alleges that wholesalers and retailers bought more drugs than they needed and resold the excess among themselves, collecting a rebate or "professional allowance" from the manufacturer on each transaction.
"We call that drug recycling," Ms. Stevenson said.
The full extent of the problem will not be known until the government completes forensic audits of other industry players, including retail pharmacies, she said. ...more
Monday, April 27, 2009
Woman given 30 months in jail for drug scam
From Toronto Sun:
An Etobicoke pharmacist and her son exploited homeless men to bilk the province out of at least $500,000 in bogus prescription claims.
Abimbola "Bola" Kabiawu, a pharmacist-owner of Kipling Guardian Pharmacy, was sentenced to 30 months imprisonment, and she and her son, Oluwarotimi "Tim" Kabiawu, were ordered to repay more than $200,000, a judgment released yesterday stated.
The two took part in a scheme in which residents of Seaton House shelter obtained pricey prescriptions from doctors, Madam Justice Alison Harvison Young wrote.
The prescriptions were never filled and the pharmacist submitted the claims and gave some cash to the customers.
Both Kabiawu and her son were ordered to repay $204,000, the amount of the fraud they had personally pocketed, minus the $41,000 they'd already repaid. ...more
An Etobicoke pharmacist and her son exploited homeless men to bilk the province out of at least $500,000 in bogus prescription claims.
Abimbola "Bola" Kabiawu, a pharmacist-owner of Kipling Guardian Pharmacy, was sentenced to 30 months imprisonment, and she and her son, Oluwarotimi "Tim" Kabiawu, were ordered to repay more than $200,000, a judgment released yesterday stated.
The two took part in a scheme in which residents of Seaton House shelter obtained pricey prescriptions from doctors, Madam Justice Alison Harvison Young wrote.
The prescriptions were never filled and the pharmacist submitted the claims and gave some cash to the customers.
Both Kabiawu and her son were ordered to repay $204,000, the amount of the fraud they had personally pocketed, minus the $41,000 they'd already repaid. ...more
Health-care workers to get broader powers
From the Toronto Star:
Ontario is about to move ahead with plans to allow pharmacists, nurse practitioners and other health-care professionals to provide some services now performed by doctors, Premier Dalton McGuinty says.
Pharmacists would, for instance, be able to extend prescription refills, one of a series of moves aimed at easing long waits for health care, said McGuinty.
The necessary legislative changes will be made "very soon," he said.
"Our government plans to better utilize your skills and maximize your contributions," McGuinty told the annual general meeting of the Registered Nurses' Association of Ontario in Markham. "Families seeking health care will experience the difference."
The premier went on to give examples of how the changes should help shorten wait times and enhance access to care.
"Instead of waiting in the emergency room to see a physician, you would have your fracture set by a nurse practitioner, who is qualified to do it ... and you'll be on your way home," he said. "People needing a prescription refill would be able to make one trip to a pharmacist instead of two trips: one to the doctor and then one to the pharmacist." ...more
Ontario is about to move ahead with plans to allow pharmacists, nurse practitioners and other health-care professionals to provide some services now performed by doctors, Premier Dalton McGuinty says.
Pharmacists would, for instance, be able to extend prescription refills, one of a series of moves aimed at easing long waits for health care, said McGuinty.
The necessary legislative changes will be made "very soon," he said.
"Our government plans to better utilize your skills and maximize your contributions," McGuinty told the annual general meeting of the Registered Nurses' Association of Ontario in Markham. "Families seeking health care will experience the difference."
The premier went on to give examples of how the changes should help shorten wait times and enhance access to care.
"Instead of waiting in the emergency room to see a physician, you would have your fracture set by a nurse practitioner, who is qualified to do it ... and you'll be on your way home," he said. "People needing a prescription refill would be able to make one trip to a pharmacist instead of two trips: one to the doctor and then one to the pharmacist." ...more
Automated delivery of prescriptions moves a step closer in Ontario
From CBC News:
The pharmaceutical version of the automated banking machine could be coming to Ontario, as the province's pharmacy college took a step toward allowing drug dispensing machines in places where a pharmacist is not present.
On Tuesday, the Ontario College of Pharmacists voted in favour of opening door to the new technology. ...more
The pharmaceutical version of the automated banking machine could be coming to Ontario, as the province's pharmacy college took a step toward allowing drug dispensing machines in places where a pharmacist is not present.
On Tuesday, the Ontario College of Pharmacists voted in favour of opening door to the new technology. ...more
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Pharmacy school opens its doors
From the Waterloo (Ont.) Record:
Celebration was in the air as University of Waterloo officially opened its new school of pharmacy, the first to open in Canada in 20 years.
Hundreds of students, professors, politicians and donors crowded the bright, airy building, widely noted as an architectural gem, to mark what university president David Johnston called a "barn-raising at its best."
"Ontario has a shortage of pharmacists, and this school is going to go a long way in ensuring we meet that need," said John Milloy, Ontario's minister of colleges and universities as well as MPP for Kitchener Centre.
He was joined by Health Minister David Caplan, plus a Who's Who of politicians from Kitchener and Waterloo, including mayors, MPs, MPPs and municipal councillors. ...more
Celebration was in the air as University of Waterloo officially opened its new school of pharmacy, the first to open in Canada in 20 years.
Hundreds of students, professors, politicians and donors crowded the bright, airy building, widely noted as an architectural gem, to mark what university president David Johnston called a "barn-raising at its best."
"Ontario has a shortage of pharmacists, and this school is going to go a long way in ensuring we meet that need," said John Milloy, Ontario's minister of colleges and universities as well as MPP for Kitchener Centre.
He was joined by Health Minister David Caplan, plus a Who's Who of politicians from Kitchener and Waterloo, including mayors, MPs, MPPs and municipal councillors. ...more
Saturday, April 11, 2009
Pharmacist wins kudos for his compounding skills
From the Waterloo (Ont.) Record:
When pharmacist Phil Hudson came to Canada from England in 1986, the idea of a pharmacist customizing medications was a novel idea. Twenty years later, not only is his field fully accepted, but the British-trained Hudson was named compounding pharmacist of the year for 2008 by a company called Professional Compounding Centers of America, Canada.
The profession has come full circle. Early apothecaries mixed their own medications to suit a patient's malady. Over time, factory-produced pharmaceuticals became the norm. Today's compounding pharmacists can take basic medications and customize them to better suit a patient's needs and tastes.
"I had a situation (with a patient) I couldn't deal with," Hudson explained. "I came across a compounding pharmacist and called her, in the U.S. She started talking about how to overcome the problem." ...more
When pharmacist Phil Hudson came to Canada from England in 1986, the idea of a pharmacist customizing medications was a novel idea. Twenty years later, not only is his field fully accepted, but the British-trained Hudson was named compounding pharmacist of the year for 2008 by a company called Professional Compounding Centers of America, Canada.
The profession has come full circle. Early apothecaries mixed their own medications to suit a patient's malady. Over time, factory-produced pharmaceuticals became the norm. Today's compounding pharmacists can take basic medications and customize them to better suit a patient's needs and tastes.
"I had a situation (with a patient) I couldn't deal with," Hudson explained. "I came across a compounding pharmacist and called her, in the U.S. She started talking about how to overcome the problem." ...more
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