JANUARY 2021 – A new online tool from Quebec-based Therappx aims to help pharmacists and other healthcare providers feel comfortable discussing and recommending digital health apps to their patients.
“Having access to reliable and up-to-date information when it comes to choosing an app for a patient was not something we could count on in 2020,” says clinical pharmacist Alexandre Chagnon, chief executive officer and founder of Therappx—and a former Canadian Foundation for Pharmacy Wellspring Award winner. “Now we have access to a tool that acts like a CPS (Compendium for Pharmaceuticals and Specialties), but for digital tools.”
Chagnon says a tool like this is essential now more than ever, because there have never been so many digital options for patients to choose from when it comes to their health. “If, as a profession, we don’t show interest and act as value-adding members of the digital care team, we may end up being cast away like when the CGM (continuous glucose monitoring) devices launched on the Canadian market.”
Officially launching on February 1, 2021, pharmacists can now purchase an annual Therappx subscription at a discounted rate to access a suite of online tools. Among them is a library of 750 app reviews, as well as access to the Therappx community, a virtual space where health professionals can connect, share their opinions about new health technologies and learn from each other. The community also hosts CE programs in the field of digital health.
Chagnon says the feedback from pharmacists and other types of clinicians so far has been tremendously positive. “A lot of them appreciate being part of the online community of practice for the first time,” he says.
In December 2020, the company also announced a collaboration with the Ministère de l’Économie et de l’Innovation (MEI) and MEDTEQ+ (also known as the Quebec Consortium for Industrial Research and Innovation in Medical Technology) to provide its core platform free of charge to 28 suicide prevention centres in Quebec. This aims to help mental health workers at these sites recommend digital tools that best suit their patients’ situation.
Next up, Therappx is a private partner, along with the Canadian Foundation of Pharmacy, in a study that will measure the impact of “digitally augmented pharmacists” on medication adherence. Click here for details.
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