At the forefront of virtual care

JUNE 2021 - The pandemic certainly boosted the adoption of virtual care, and pharmacy stands poised to take the lead on its widespread acceptance by patients—and perhaps serve as a model for the public system. But first, more pharmacists need to embrace the technologies themselves.

Canadian Foundation for Pharmacy Wellspring Leadership Award winner Riu Su is hoping to help with the development of a comprehensive resource to help pharmacists better navigate this new realm of patient care. “There is an initial understanding of what is going on in this space, but it’s a rapidly changing space,” says Su, co-founder of MedMe Health. “We want to help pharmacists learn how they can increase their digital literacy.”

In the meantime, the team at Sunnybrook Odette Cancer Centre’s out-patient pharmacy is determining the value of virtual care to provide medication management services that are on par with what patients received prior to the pandemic.

“Telepharmacy to deliver patient counseling and clinical services has been practised for some time now; however, its use in day-to-day practice is limited, in part due to concern over which patients are appropriate candidates for virtual care,” says CFP Innovation Fund recipient Carlo DeAngelis, Clinical Pharmacy Researcher, Oncology Pharmacy, Department of Pharmacy at Sunnybrook and the Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy in Toronto.

Get the full story in CFP's Changing Face of Pharmacy Spring 2021 Report. Email Dayle Acorn (dacorn@cfpnet.ca) to get your copy.