Clinical Pharmacy Services in Canadian Emergency Departments: A 2022 National Survey.

Background: Support for the role of an emergency department (ED) clinical pharmacy team is evidence-based and recognized in numerous professional guidelines, yet previous literature suggests a low prevalence of ED clinical pharmacy services in Canadian hospitals.

Objectives: To update (from a survey conducted in 2013) the description and quantification of clinical pharmacy services in Canadian EDs.

Methods: All Canadian hospitals with an ED and at least 50 acute care beds were contacted to identify the presence of dedicated ED pharmacy services (defined as at least 0.

Pediatric Pharmacy Services in Canadian Adult Hospitals: An Inventory and Prioritization of Services.

Background: The rate of potential adverse drug events is reported to be 3 times higher among pediatric inpatients than among their adult counterparts. Various methods have been suggested to reduce medication errors in pediatric patients. One of the most influential of these strategies is inclusion of a clinical pharmacist on the multidisciplinary care team.

Knowledge and Attitudes of Hospital Pharmacy Staff in Canada Regarding Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD).

Background: In February 2015, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that it was unconstitutional to prohibit physicians from assisting in a patient's consensual death, thereby setting the groundwork for the legalization of medical assistance in dying (MAiD). Much of the research on this topic has focused on physicians, although other health care professionals will be involved in the process, including pharmacists, pharmacy technicians, and pharmacy assistants. In many provinces, the medications required for MAiD will be dispensed from hospital pharmacies, which will result in direct involvement of hospital pharmacy staff.

Reliability of Best Possible Medication Histories Completed by Non-admitted Patients in the Emergency Department.

Background: Accreditation standards have outlined the need for staff in emergency departments to initiate the medication reconciliation process for patients who are at risk of adverse drug events. The authors hypothesized that a guided form could be used by non-admitted patients in the emergency department to assist with completion of a best possible medication history (BPMH).

Objective: To determine the percentage of patients in the non-acute care area of the emergency department who could complete a guided BPMH form with no clinically significant discrepancies (defined as no major discrepancies and no more than 1 moderate discrepancy).

Opinions of Hospital Pharmacists in Canada Regarding Marijuana for Medical Purposes.

Background: Canada's most recent Marihuana for Medical Purposes Regulations have changed the way in which patients access marijuana. Furthermore, if authorized by the person in charge of the hospital, a pharmacist practising in a hospital may now place orders with licensed producers for dried marijuana for in-hospital use by patients. As use of this product increases, hospital pharmacists may have an increased role in the care of patients who are using marijuana for medical purposes.

Medication Reconciliation Practices in Canadian Emergency Departments: A National Survey.

Background: As of 2015, Accreditation Canada's Qmentum program expects emergency departments (EDs) to initiate medication reconciliation for 2 groups of patients: (1) those with a decision to admit and (2) those without a decision to admit who meet the criteria of a risk-based, health care organization-defined selection process. Pharmacist-led best possible medication histories (BPMHs) obtained in the ED are considered more complete and accurate than BPMHs obtained by other ED providers, with pharmacy technicians obtaining BPMHs as effectively as do pharmacists. A current assessment of the role of pharmacy in BPMH processes in Canadian EDs is lacking.

Clinical Pharmacy Services in Canadian Emergency Departments: A National Survey.

Background: Providing clinical pharmacy services in emergency departments (EDs) is important because adverse drug events commonly occur before, during, and after ED encounters. Survey studies in the United States have indicated a relatively low presence of clinical pharmacy services in the ED setting, but a descriptive survey specific to Canada has not yet been performed.

Objectives: To describe the current status of pharmacy services in Canadian EDs and potential barriers to implementing pharmacy services in this setting.