Practice Update: Aug. 30, 2023

1339 community pharmacies have submitted a PharmaNet site registration to the Ministry of Heath (the Ministry). The Ministry would like to thank community pharmacies for their prompt response and remind the remaining 132 pharmacies that they must submit their registration in PRIME by Aug. 31, 2023 to retain their access to PharmaNet.

Please be advised that as of Sept. 1, 2023, the Ministry reserves the right to remove access to PharmaNet at any site that fails to submit their registration by the deadline.

Any person can initiate the registration process. However, only the person who has legal responsibility for the pharmacy can agree to the Organization Agreement for Community Pharmacy PharmaNet Use, which is a mandatory step in the process.

No further action is required if you are not responsible for access to PharmaNet at your pharmacy or if your pharmacy registration is already submitted in PRIME.

Where to find more information:

• PRIME web page
• Pharmacy Access to PharmaNet – includes a step-by-step guide to registering your pharmacy

You may contact PrimeSupport@gov.bc.ca if you have questions or require more information.

Join Dr. Walter Chow as he reviews the evidence and practicalities of early cardiorenal risk reduction management strategies for Type 2 Diabetes, applies recent evidence and guideline recommendations to a patient case and reviews guideline-based treatment options currently available in Canada.

After attending the webinar, pharmacists will be better able to:

• Review the evidence and practicalities of early cardiorenal risk reduction management strategies for Type 2 Diabetes
• Apply recent evidence and guideline recommendations to a patient case
• Guideline based treatment now in BC

Sept. 12, 2023 6:00 pm – 7:00 pm (Pacific)

This program is non-accredited. 

The Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) is collaborating with the National Collaborating Centre for Infectious Diseases (NCCID) to produce a webinar to inform health care providers on the National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI) recommendations on seasonal influenza vaccine use for the 2023-2024 season.  

At the end of this webinar, participants will be able to:  

• Discuss the importance of seasonal influenza vaccination with people in Canada. 
• Identify and address barriers to seasonal influenza vaccine uptake. 
• Apply the NACI recommendations on seasonal influenza vaccine use for the 2023-2024 season. 
• Identify where to access NACI guidance, Canadian influenza antiviral guidelines and other resources relevant to prevention and treatment of influenza during the 2023-2024 season. 

Sept. 19, 2023 9:00 am – 10:00 am (Pacific)  

As the fall respiratory illness season approaches, there may be an increased demand from the public for Rapid Antigen Test (RAT) kits. To order more RAT kits, please connect with your pharmacy's distributor. For this fall, pharmacies are likely to be the main place the public can obtain RAT kits from, as distribution programs in schools and industries are winding down.

Pharmacies will be paid $75 for each case of RAT kits distributed and entered into PharmaNet with the PIN:

• 66128325 for a BTNX case
• 66128338 for an Artron case

See PharmaCare Policy Section 8.15 for details including PharmaNet instructions to claim the RAT kit distribution fee.

A reminder that Health Canada has extended the shelf-life for Atron RAT kits by 6 months. See details here.

Several times a year, the BC Pharmacy Association hosts Members of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia to visit pharmacies to learn about the work community pharmacists are doing for the public.

The most recent round of tours were hosted in the months leading up to the June 1 implementation of the Minor Ailments and Contraception Service, and resulted in visits to pharmacies from members of the British Columbia government, including Minister of Health Adrian Dix, Attorney General Niki Sharma, Minister of Jobs Brenda Bailey and others.

The Association is currently in the process of inviting MLAs back to community pharmacies to discuss how community members have used the new services since June 1. If you are interested in hosting your MLA, please email michael.mui@bcpharmacy.ca with your electoral district in the subject line, along with the name of your MLA. Only one pharmacy will be selected per district.

If you are unsure which MLA represents your district, type in your pharmacy's postal code into this MLA Lookup Tool.

The deadline for the 2023 BC Pharmacy Association Excellence Awards is Sept. 30, 2023. Do you know a pharmacist who has embraced the new Minor Ailment and Contraception Services? Is your pharmacy doing something innovative that could positively impact patients or the profession? We want to hear from you.

Nominating is easy. You can fill out an online form or alternatively you can download and print a .pdf to nominate someone. The nominee is required to be a member of the BC Pharmacy Association, and the best nominations include:

• Letter(s) of support from peers working in pharmacy or other health sectors
• Letter(s) of support from patient(s)
• Documentation/media articles that demonstrate the pharmacist's achievements

For more information, please email awards@bcpharmacy.ca

In a message from Mark Armitage, Associate Deputy Minister, Health Human Resources, the provincial government is asking health care professionals to consider signing up for the Emergency Health Provider Registry. This is an online registry of health professionals who may be able and willing to be deployed to respond to emergency events.

The Ministry says signing up does not create an obligation to respond to emergency events, and participation in any deployment is always voluntary.

More information is available at the Emergency Health Provider Registry page.

Please see the following dates below:

• Sept. 17, 2023 - Pharmacists (Vancouver)
• Sept. 24, 2023 - Pharmacists (Vancouver)

Note: The BCCDC Immunization Competency Course has been updated and a new version launched on January 31, 2023. For more information regarding the course update please see this Q&A.

Need training to offer Opioid Agonist Treatment (OAT)? There are multiple workshops coming up.

For new pharmacists or pharmacists who are new to British Columbia, and/or are now providing services related to OAT, the BCPhA continues to host virtual workshops for pharmacies to meet the PPP-66 OAT training requirement. Please see below for upcoming workshop availability:

• Sept. 13, 2023
• Oct. 21, 2023
• Nov. 15, 2023
• Dec. 7, 2023

The College of Pharmacists of BC Professional Practice Policy-66 requires all registrants who are employed in a pharmacy providing services related to Opioid Agonist Treatment (OAT) to have successfully completed BCPhA’s Opioid Agonist Treatment Compliance And Management Program For Pharmacy (OAT-CAMPP).

Recent postings on the BCPhA job board include:

• Pharmacist - Vancouver
• Pharmacist - Langley
• Pharmacist - Camrose
• Pharmacist - Pitt Meadows
• Pharmacy Manager - Ladner

You must be a member of the BCPhA to view these listings. Click here and log in as a member to view the full job postings.

Are you a pharmacy manager looking to hire in your pharmacy? Post on our job board today.

Whether you are looking for full-time, part-time or relief shift, post your resume today on the BCPhA Hire-A-Pharmacist page and make yourself visible to more than 900 pharmacy owners. Post your resume today!