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Objectives Pharmacists are increasingly providing specialized services. However, no process exists for specialist certification in Canada. The aim of this study was to determine the extent to which Canadian community pharmacists support the development of a certification system for specialization. Methods This study utilized a cross-sectional online survey of licensed Canadian pharmacists identified through the member databases of national and regional pharmacy associations. A questionnaire was developed (in French and English) and distributed via email, on behalf of the researchers, by multiple pharmacy organizations in January 2015. Multivariate logistic regressions were conducted to identify which sub-groups of respondents supported the creation of a certification system and which supported mandatory certification. Key findings A total of 770 responses were received. Many respondents were practising specialists (30.0%, 205/683) and the most commonly reported specialty areas were diabetes, smoking cessation and geriatrics. Almost 85% ( n = 653/770) supported creation of a Canadian certification process and 68.5% ( n = 447/653) felt certification should be mandatory. Respondents believed that the primary benefit of a certification system was greater public confidence in pharmacist specialist skills. They also felt that the most important factor in the development of the system is to create national definitions for specialty practice. The main barrier was the lack of reimbursement for specialty services in Canada. Conclusions The majority of Canadian community pharmacist respondents support the creation of a certification process for pharmacist specialization. Future study is required to confirm this finding in a larger sample and to determine the optimal model and the financial feasibility of a national system in Canada. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the relationship between spirituality and interpersonal competence and how these variables influence friend group satisfaction. Interpretive and objective perspectives are bridged using the framework of symbolic convergence theory to explain why the relationship between faith and interpersonal competence may exist based on teachings of prevalent spiritual texts. Four hundred eighty-seven participants completed measurements representing their perceptions of spirituality, interpersonal competence, and friend group satisfaction. The results indicated that three dimensions of spirituality (awareness, grandiosity, and disappointment) predict a significant amount of the variance in the five interpersonal competencies (initiation, disclosure, negative assertion, emotional support, and conflict management). The results also reveal the positive influence spirituality and interpersonal competence have on friend group satisfaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents an overview of the eligibility criteria for Canadian community pharmacy medication review programs funded by provinces. Topics discussed include finding of eight Canadian provinces to have provincially funded medication review program, lack of consistency in eligibility criteria and need to develop a validated tool or screening protocol for adoption of consistent eligibility criteria, to optimize use of health care resources and improvement of patient outcomes.

Competing Interests: The authors have no conflicts of interest to report.

Competing Interests: The authors have no conflicts of interest to report.

Background: Chronic noncancer pain (CNCP) is a common condition that affects individuals at a biopsychosocial level and can significantly impair function and quality of life. Referral to an interprofessional CNCP program is recommended for most patients; however, these clinics are limited in number and capacity. Expanding access by testing new service delivery models would be of value. The purpose of this study was to measure the impact of a new pharmacist-led, interprofessional model of care developed at the University of Saskatchewan Chronic Pain Clinic., Methods: A retrospective chart audit was conducted using data that included adult patients referred for CNCP management between May 2020 and December 2021. Medication use, overall health status (using the Clinical Global Impression of Change-Improvement [CGI-I] scale) and patient readiness to change (using the Transtheoretical Model) were measured 6 months after the initial appointment., Results: The study included 138 patients. Of the 80 patients taking an opioid, 22.5% were switched to buprenorphine/naloxone and the remainder had their mean morphine-equivalent dose reduced by a mean of 41.7 mg/d. Overall patient health status was minimally improved and many patients moved into the Action stage of change., Discussion: Changes in opioid use demonstrate a clinically important shift toward safer medication regimens that are less likely to lead to toxicity and unintended overdose. CGI-I data suggest that these patients, whose health status is typically very difficult to change, did not deteriorate but slightly improved after attending the clinic., Conclusion: The unique pharmacist-led, interprofessional model of care used by the University of Saskatchewan Chronic Pain Clinic may offer a viable alternative to traditional physician-led models., Competing Interests: The authors have no conflicts of interest to report., (© The Author(s) 2023.)

Competing Interests: Declaration of Conflicting Interests: The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship and/or publication of this article.

Competing Interests: Statement of Conflicting Interests:VLC has no conflicts of interest to report; SD is employed by Northwest Telepharmacy Solutions; KE has no conflicts of interest to report; SE has received a speaker honorarium from Merck Sharp and Dohme; DJ has no conflicts of interest to report; FM has no conflict of interest to report; KL has no conflict of interest to report; OR has received speaker honoraria from AbbVie, Bayer, Boehringer Ingelheim, Medac, Merck Sharp and Dohme, Noweda, Novartis and Omnicell.

Competing Interests: Statement of Conflicting Interests:The authors have no conflicts of interest to report.

Background: The Saskatchewan Medication Assessment Program (SMAP) is a publicly funded community pharmacy-based medication assessment service with limited previous evaluation. The purpose of this study was to explore community pharmacists' experiences with the SMAP., Methods: Online, self-administered questionnaire that consisted of a combination of 53 Likert scale and free-text questions. All licensed pharmacists who were practising in a community pharmacy setting in Saskatchewan were eligible to participate., Results: Response rate was 20.3% ( n = 228/1124). Most respondents agreed that the SMAP is achieving all of its intended purposes. For example, 89.7% agreed that the SMAP improved medication safety for patients who receive the service. Most pharmacists enjoyed performing the assessments (84.6%) and were confident in their ability to identify drug-related problems (88.3%). Pharmacists reported lack of time, patients having difficulty coming to the pharmacy and restrictive eligibility criteria as the top barriers to the SMAP. Good teamwork, employer support and personal professional commitment were the top recognized facilitators. Respondents made several suggestions to improve the SMAP in the free-text areas of the questionnaire., Conclusions: Community pharmacists in Saskatchewan were positive and confident about performing medication assessments, and most agreed that the SMAP is achieving all of the intended purposes. Respondents also identified several barriers to providing SMAP services, which have resulted in specific recommendations that should be addressed to improve the program., Competing Interests: Statement of Conflicting Interests:The authors have no conflicts of interest to report.

Competing Interests: Declaration of Conflicting Interests:The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship and/or publication of this article.

Objective: To determine if the clinical services provided at a patient care clinic run by pharmacy faculty and students are valuable to family physicians., Design: Paper-based postal survey., Setting: The Medication Assessment Centre located within the College of Pharmacy and Nutrition at the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon., Participants: Family physicians who had more than 1 patient who underwent a complete assessment at the Medication Assessment Centre between April 1 and October 26, 2015, were included in the study., Main Outcome Measures: Family physician experience and satisfaction based on quantitative analysis of 6 Likert scale survey questions and thematic analysis of 2 open-ended survey questions., Results: A total of 81 questionnaires were mailed to family physicians, with a response rate of 43.2% (n = 35). Respondents reported a very high level of support and satisfaction with the clinical pharmacist program; most (88.6%) stated that it helped them to improve the health of their patients., Conclusion: The family physicians who responded to the questionnaire perceived the services provided at the patient care clinic located within the pharmacy school at the University of Saskatchewan to be valuable to their practices., (Copyright© the College of Family Physicians of Canada.)