How the Covid pandemic advanced the pharmacy profession
Justin Bates discusses the work of the Ontario Pharmacists Association, starting his position just before the Covid-19 pandemic, and shifting pharmacies to a service model (1,200 words, 6 minutes)
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Justin Bates, CEO of the Ontario Pharmacists Association (OPA), emphasizes the OPA’s significant role as an advocacy organization that has been making a substantial impact for more than five decades. With a focused objective to bolster and advance the pharmacy profession in Ontario, the OPA operates as a not-for-profit voluntary association, presenting a unique set of opportunities and challenges. During a recent episode of the NPC Podcast, Bates highlighted their representation model, designed to unify the diverse aspects of the marketplace.
He says the OPA advocates on behalf of independent pharmacists, pharmacy owners, family health teams, hospitals, and long-term care with public plans such as the Ontario Drug Benefit program, as well as with private plans. “We also help them develop practice tools and research to help implement and operationalize policies and services in pharmacy,” he says. Additionally, the OPA offers professional development programs to help educate pharmacists in their pursuit of excellence in patient care.
Bates [pictured below] started his position as CEO in September 2019, just months before the Covid-19 pandemic hit the world. He says this was a big challenge, but it transformed the way he works. The pandemic made him realize how adaptable he is. “I couldn’t have anticipated that eight months into my tenure, we’d be entering a public health crisis,” he says. He adds his plans to transform and modernize the association and their service offerings were ambitious, but his team had to quickly shift into crisis management mode.
He says managing the culture of the organization through OPA office closures was challenging. Some OPA members didn’t have the ability to self-isolate, and had to remain open throughout the pandemic lockdowns. He said the pandemic forced the organization to be agile and seize the opportunity. “We saw an opportunity to demonstrate how community pharmacies and healthcare hubs can do more,” he says. “They can step up and provide solutions to help combat a pandemic, and more long-term as well, but they were underutilized. This allowed us to demonstrate to the public what pharmacies can do.”
Bates says the OPA is undertaking many initiatives to advance the pharmacy community in Ontario, but the biggest challenge is to change the public’s perception of pharmacy. “Patients are demanding different ways to have care delivered to them, and I think that’s our opportunity to provide that vision and leadership to make sure we have sustainable pharmacies,” he says. Bates emphasizes the importance of a solution-focused approach in dealing with government and private payers to incorporate and integrate technological advancements effectively.
He adds, “We’re incorporating and integrating all of these technological advancements, but at the same time safeguarding the fundamental aspects of our work, such as medication management and one-on-one counselling,” he says. He added that this shift is aimed at transitioning to a service-oriented model. This approach, according to Bates, ensures that pharmacies can meet patients’ evolving needs while upholding their essential role in providing personalized medication management and counselling services.
Additional sources:
THIS WEEK 07/25/23
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Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Canada entered into a Letter of Intent with the pan-Canadian Pharmaceutical Alliance regarding edaravone (Radicava Oral Suspension), for Tx of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.
The U.S. FDA approved AstraZeneca and Sanofi’s nirsevimab (Beyfortus) for prevention of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) lower respiratory tract disease (LRTD) in newborns and infants born during or entering their first RSV season, and for children up to 24 months of age who remain vulnerable to severe RSV disease through their second RSV season.
Verrica Pharmaceuticals, a dermatology therapeutics company based in West Chester, Penna., announced the U.S. FDA granted approval to cantharidin (Ycanth) for the treatment of molluscum contagiosum in patients two years of age and older.
LISTEN UP
In season 10 of the NPC Podcast, Ben Parry and Sylvia Pilon, Directors at Pangaea Group, discuss the evolution of customer-facing roles, overcoming silos in integrated health, and onboarding new talent in virtual workplaces. Hear them in conversation with podcast hosts Mitch Shannon, Jim Shea and Mark McElwain.
HEALTHBIZ REWIND
This feature of NPC Healthbiz Weekly looks back at some of the most insightful moments from previous NPC Podcast episodes. In Healthbiz Rewind, you’ll read bold life sci predictions made during the renowned “Prognostication Korner” segment of the NPC Podcast.
Dr. Ted Witek
Professor and Senior Fellow
University of Toronto
Toronto
Season 6, episode 02
Listen to this episode here
What bold predictions will you make about the life sciences industry during the coming 12 to 24 months? [This episode was recorded in January 2022]
I believe 2022 will be a year of transition. It’ll be the third year of what I call the Covid decade, and I think we have three areas of seriousness that we need to think about. One is to rid ourselves of the acute emergency of the pandemic, and then we have to smartly deal with its effects. There’s a British report called “The Pandemic Decade”, which is eye-opening. This [the effects of the pandemic] will be with us for a long time, and we need to stay tough through this next year. The second one, which is health-related, is climate. I hope we continue to increase our seriousness about it. I wrote a paper on climate change, and it opened my eyes to how serious this is. There are elements that are really changing in front of our eyes. The third area is the political scene, how democracy is hanging by a thread in a few places.
These are all areas that we need to be vigilant, patient, and steadfast to get to 2023 because I find that this will be the toughest year. What’s going to change? I won’t predict that, but I do feel that we will move to an endemic [state]. With climate change, I see more and more people waking up. This is a healthcare podcast, but the government and the potential vulnerability of democracy is another point that we’ll need to pay attention to, not lose sight of and not just let things happen. We need to be involved.
NEXT WEEK
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