Since the Alberta College of Pharmacists (ACP) introduced new guidelines for assessing and monitoring individuals with opioid medications last October, we received a great deal of feedback from both pharmacy professionals and members of the public. In response, ACP began work to provide support to pharmacy professionals in educating individuals about why assessments are so important for their health and safety.
ACP has developed a six-page brochure titled: Understanding your pharmacist’s role in assessing medication risk. The brochure helps explain the importance of pharmacist assessments, why pharmacists ask questions, the risks involved with taking opioid medications, and the pharmacist’s role in their opioid therapy.
Initially, each community pharmacy in Alberta will receive 200 brochures. It is not mandatory to provide a brochure to each patient with an opioid prescription. Rather, the brochures are intended for individuals who have questions about the assessment process for any medication they have been prescribed, or for those who would like to find out more about ACP’s opioid guidelines.
Should your pharmacy eventually require more brochures, please email your request to communications@abpharmacy.ca.
We hope you and your patients find the brochure useful in broadening understanding of the pharmacy professional’s role in opioid therapy and the importance of assessing the appropriateness of any prescription, whether it’s for an opioid or not.
