2009: Ross Memorial Hospital in Lindsay, Ontario Receives Pharmacy Services via Telepharmacy

I just came across an entry in the Canadian Journal of Hospital Pharmacy that highlights Ross Memorial Hospital in Lindsay, Ontario receiving pharmacy services remotely Mon-Fri from an undisclosed pharmacy. The rest of the work is "tech-check-tech".

Newfoundland Supports Local Hospital with Funds for a Chemotherapy Telepharmacy System

Yesterday Canada's Newfoundland provincial government announced they are spending $3.5 million on The Central Newfoundland Regional Health Centre in Grand Falls-Windosor as part of a project that will inject a total of $30 million over 4 years in the hospital. Part of those funds will go to:

16 dialysis machines; a dictation transcription system; a medications carousel for drug distribution; automatic drug packaging system; cardiology management system; a new ambulance; chemotherapy telepharmacy admixture system; a cataract machine; two cardiac monitors; and, 10 dialysis and lift chairs.

If anyone has any more details please leave a comment.

College of Pharmacists of British Columbia Propose Bylaw Changes Involving Telepharmacy Rules

Earlier this month, the BC College of Pharmacists proposed some amendments to the Bylaws of the Pharmacy Operations and Drug Scheduling Act (PODSA, which is Current law in the Canadian province of British Columbia). Among the changes (in yellow) are adjustments from "Pharmacist" to "Full Pharmacist," rules for managers of "Central pharmacy sites" and quite a few responsibility shifts. Here are the current bylaws for comparison.

Thanks to a reader for pointing this out.

Ontario Hospitals will Dispense Drugs via PharmaTrust Kiosks

The PharmaTrust dispensing machine is set to be deployed in Canadian hospitals in the province of Ontario, according to an Ontario Hospital Association press release:

The OHA and PharmaTrust will collaborate on the installation of telepharmacy prescription-dispensing kiosks in hospitals across the province.

PharmaTrust MedCentre kiosks offer live video pharmacist counseling and quick and safe 24/7 access to prescription and over-the-counter medications, dispensed under the complete control of a pharmacist. The PharmaTrust MedCentre allows patients to simply insert their prescription, pick up the handset and interact live with a pharmacist who provides counselling via two-way video conferencing. The pharmacist is supported by integrated safety features to ensure prescription authenticity, accuracy and patient safety.

If you've been reading this blog for a while, you know that the kiosk was developed by Patient Care Automation Services, Inc with a grant from the National Research Council of Canada, and was trialed in Toronto's Sunnybrook Hospital.

New Legislation Paves Way for Remote Dispensing in Ontario, Canada

The Ontario legislature passed Bill 179, which will allow remote dispensing in the province:

The new legislation will permit PCA Services Inc. of Oakville to roll out its PharmaTrust(TM) Med Centres across the province - something the company has been working towards for four years. Once the regulations are in place, it is expected that Med Centres will be deployed to service patients in medical clinics, hospitals, employer facilities, retail locations, and remote communities that cannot economically support a traditional drug store.

Check out the press release. We've covered the remote prescription dispensing machine previously here at the Telepharmacy Blog, and also this legislation when it was first being considered. Here are some promo videos and news pieces from Youtube:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gU30LnS2qso




http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-kGuOu1GQ0

Ontario company attracts "dozens of countries" to its retail telepharmacy machine

Charlene Close of 680 News out of Toronto did an informative write up on Patient Care Automation Services, Inc from Oakville, ON:

Patient Care Automation Services Inc. (PCAS) is the developer of the PharmaTrust® MedCentre which is designed for use in hospitals, pharmacies, medical clinics and workplaces. About a dozen countries are already interested in the product.

It operates much like an automated bank machine - insert your paper prescription into the machine or pick up a phone, it then connects electronically via video to an actual pharmacist who can answer any questions the patient has and then sign off on the prescription before the drugs are dispensed.

The company received a $1.5-million grant from the National Research Council of Canada today that will assist in further development and marketing it across Canada, the U.S. and the UK.

This is the company the Canadian government expressed an interest in within a press release from October 13th, and was previously covered here at the Telepharmacy blog.

UPDATE 1: October 28, more press on the Telepharmacy machine: Fierce Healthcare ran this article, complete with announcements from Canadian government officials from the National Research Council and the Minister of State for Science and Technology's office about funding the project. The article also has new info about the system's use:

Currently, trials are taking place at Sunnybrook Hospital in Toronto, under the supervision of the hospital's pharmacy; there are production sites at the Albany Clinic, in Toronto, and Cambridge Memorial Hospital, in Cambridge, Ont.

The system is under evaluation as a pandemic response platform by researchers at the University Health Network and the company has also just recently received approval to deploy its system in select locations in the UK.

UPDATE 2: Nov, here is the National Research Council's official statement.

Ontario pharmacists awarded for telepharmacy work

Bryan Meadows of the Chronicle Journal writes about Colin J. Pienaar and Maritza du Preez, a pair of pharmacists from Sioux Lookout winning an award at the Ontario Pharmacists' Association annual meeting for getting the first Community hospital joined to the Ontario Telemedicine Network:

In an interview Thursday, Pienaar said the couple was very surprised by the recognition.
“We did everything because we felt it was necessary at the time. We realize now that it was quite a lot of groundbreaking stuff – quite surprisingly.”
...
When they realized this solution only met their patients‘ needs for pharmacy care one or two days a month, Sioux Lookout Remedy‘s Rx became the first community pharmacy to join the Ontario telemedicine network. Today, a video conferencing unit allows patients to see their pharmacist daily through a live television feed, and patient information materials have been translated into Oji-Cree as has a blister medication reminder card.

Ontario, Canada considering retail telepharmacy legislation

Current law in the Canadian province of Ontario restricts the remote dispensation of medication, machines for which already exist and are being tested, and there are amendments to legislation in the works to allow remote dispensing. Check the Ontario College of Pharmacists' entry on the matter.

In an online article from Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario's Sault Star:

Basically, the legislation enables the private sector to install the technology to meet demand, wherever that is, because "right now in Ontario law you have to have a pharmacist physically present," Erwin said.

Two machines have been tested at Toronto's Sunnybrook Hospital since June. British Columbia is already using the technology, he said.

The "ScriptCenter" is one model that holds between 400 and 500 unique patient prescriptions that has been approved in 35 U.S. states, he said.

The rest of the article is opinions from a couple local Ontario pharmacists who seem be more concerned about losing customers to automation than they are with the vast numbers of people who need prescriptions filled in under-served or outright unserviced areas of the province, though it could be that they simply left better reasons unspoken. As the Health Minister spokesman David Caplan seems to have said, "This is just providing another option. In no way is it meant to replace pharmacists."

Hospital Telepharmacy Program Helps Canadian Towns Recover from the Pharmacist Shortage

This is the first mention of hospital telepharmacy in Canada! From the article:

“A small hospital can safely operate a medication storage and distribution system for their patients under the management of a registered nurse,” says Joan Kuiack, Director of Patient Care Services. “However, the addition of a pharmacist offers an enhanced quality of care to our patients.”

The hospital first contacted Kevin McDonald, manager of the hospital pharmacy telepharmacy program at Northern Pharmacy, about a year ago, but decided to try to organize a partnership with Renfrew Victoria Hospital for services of a pharmacist.

“We advertised nation-wide, but couldn’t find a pharmacist and so we went back to Kevin,” says Kuiack.

The North West Company is based out of Winnipeg; the Northern Pharmacy provides similar services to hospitals in areas such as Deep River, Cornwall and Moose Factory. McDonald, who hails from Deep River, initiated the telepharmacy project in 2004.

“A hospital pharmacist is very different from a retail pharmacist,” he says. “In smaller hospitals, there is not enough work to employ a pharmacist full-time, so it’s hard to attract them. We fill that need.”

Monique Yurkiw, a pharmacist with the company since July, will look after St. Francis Memorial. She and McDonald were at the hospital last week to test the system.

“It’s good,” she says. “We’re set to go.”