Council was privileged to engage with Marty Landrie, Executive Director, Indigenous Wellness Group, Alberta Health Services, to continue its learning about the history of Indigenous and Metis culture in Alberta. By being more informed and insightful about this history, Council’s goal is to become more mindful and better positioned to make meaningful decisions that are respectful and inclusive of Indigenous populations.
During this discussion, Mr. Landrie shared highlights of the United Nations Declaration on Indigenous Health, the treaties, and the reports of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. He discussed the importance of dialogue, community, and relationships as a foundation to integrating Indigenous health. Council explored cultural safety, and what a vision of western medicine and Indigenous healing co-existing might mean.
Council approved DRAFT Competencies for Pharmacy Licensees. Six core competencies were approved, and the descriptors for each of these were approved for the purpose of 60-day consultation which concluded on March 31, 2023.
Council considered new DRAFT Standards of Practice for Pharmacists and Pharmacy Technicians. The Council discussion warranted further review of several of the standards. These will be returned to Council in April 2023, with a goal of achieving approval for the purpose of consultation.
Council is interested in better understanding when a practice or a service falls within the role of pharmacist or pharmacy technician practice. This is important to informing the public and interested parties about “what pharmacy practice is.” It is also important to the college in providing clear expectations to regulated members, and to assist regulated members in making personal decisions about the limitations of their practices. Council reviewed a report summarizing feedback received from regulated members who participated in a series of focus groups. These sessions were designed to learn about their perspectives about how they make decisions about what practices and services fall within their practices. Council also received a literature review that provided insight about how other professions (both within and external to Canada) determine boundaries for regulated members professional roles.
Council observed that Schedule 19 of the Health Professions Act describes the roles of pharmacists and pharmacy technicians. This is further interpreted in the narrative approved by Council after consultation with regulated members in 2017. Restricted activities authorized in the Restricted Activities Regulation must only be performed in context with the role statements in Schedule 19. Council supported researching and developing descriptive statements to bring context and clarity to key phrases in the role statements.
ACP’s strategic plan includes the development and implementation of a provincial medication incident reporting system to support continuous quality improvement. Dr. Todd Boyle, PhD., Professor of Operations and Management, St. Francis Xavier University, presented Council a framework for a Continuous Quality Improvement Program. It was informed by NAPRA’s Model Standards for Continuous Quality Improvement and Medication Incident Reporting and experiences of other provincial colleges of pharmacy who have already implemented programs. This framework will guide ACP’s development, operational, and business planning for this project.
