College Takes First Steps towards Hospital Practice Reviews

The College is currently in the beginning stages of planning for Phase II of the Practice Review Program (PRP), which will see the implementation of practice reviews in hospital pharmacies.

The College launched the PRP in January 2015 in community pharmacies. The PRP introduces individual practice reviews for pharmacists and pharmacy technicians, and includes all aspects of the previous pharmacy inspection process.

The College recognizes that meaningful consultation must occur with hospital pharmacy stakeholders in order for a successful implementation into hospital practice, similar to the stakeholder engagement done during the planning stage for community pharmacies in the spring of 2014.

As a result, the College hosted a forum for a group of hospital pharmacy professionals on May 5, 2015. The group of 19 included clinical pharmacists, distribution pharmacists and pharmacy technicians, with broad representation from several health authorities.

The forum provided these stakeholders with an opportunity to discuss and provide feedback on the direction of the planning and scope for Phase II of the Practice Review Program.

Some feedback from the forum includes:

“It was well run. Everyone was encouraged to voice their opinions.”
“[The forum was] informative, helpful to get a better understanding of the intent of the practice reviews. The forum was well conducted and a good opportunity to provide some initial feedback. There is still a long way to go before this initiative can be implemented and still some unanswered questions.”
“I hope that [the Practice Review Program] helps to standardize and elevate hospital pharmacist practice around BC. I think it will be a good refresher for many older pharmacists as well!”
“[The Practice Review Program] will provide/create an effective platform for action from which to build on towards a more appropriate College assessment process for the pharmacotherapy health professionals of BC.”

The College is planning further stakeholder engagement initiatives over the coming months and looks forward to the continued involvement of stakeholders to assist with the development of the Practice Review Program for hospital pharmacy.

For more information about the Practice Review Program, please visit the College website.