About the Blueprint for Pharmacy
What is the Blueprint for Pharmacy?
The Blueprint for Pharmacy is a long-term collaborative initiative for managing the changes required to strategically align pharmacy practice with the health care needs of Canadians. For the first time in Canadian history, pharmacists, pharmacy technicians, pharmacy owners, faculties and pharmacy organizations are working together to achieve a common vision and implement a coordinated plan of action. The Blueprint for Pharmacy is led by the Canadian Pharmacists Association – leadership without ownership.
What is the overall goal of the Blueprint for Pharmacy?
The goal of the Blueprint for Pharmacy is to align pharmacy practice with the health care needs of Canadians to ensure that pharmacists can provide “optimal drug therapy outcomes for Canadians through patient-centred care.” Pharmacists and pharmacy technicians will accomplish this overall goal by practicing at the top of their scope of knowledge and practice.
How will the Blueprint for Pharmacy achieve this goal?
The Blueprint for Pharmacy builds on pan-Canadian activities underway to accelerate and support change management for the pharmacy profession. The goal of the Blueprint will be achieved through a coordinated effort by all pharmacy organizations working together under the leadership of the Blueprint for Pharmacy Steering Committee (BPSC) and the support of the Blueprint for Pharmacy National Coordinating Office (BP-NCO).
Why is the Blueprint for Pharmacy important?
Convenient and timely access to care; patient safety and health outcomes; financial sustainability; and scopes of practice of health professionals are the major issues challenging governments and health care leaders. Pharmacists, as medication experts, have an important role to play in the debate and resolution of these issues. Changes are required to strengthen the profession’s alignment with the health care needs of Canadians and to respond to the stresses on the health care system. Thus, a plan of action – the Blueprint for Pharmacy – is necessary to coordinate and implement these changes.
What is the Vision for Pharmacy? Why is the Vision for Pharmacy important and where does it come from?
Vision for Pharmacy: Optimal drug therapy outcomes for Canadians through patient-centred care
Having a common vision unites the profession and will ultimately benefit patients by ensuring that they consistently receive optimal drug therapy outcomes through patient-centred care. The Vision for Pharmacy was drafted by the Task Force on a Blueprint for Pharmacy – a group of pharmacy leaders from across Canada. The Task Force then consulted with pharmacists, pharmacy technicians, pharmacy students, associations, regulating authorities and other health care providers before finalizing the Vision for Pharmacy in 2008.
The Vision document describes a landscape where pharmacists and pharmacy technicians practise to the full extent of their skills and knowledge. Areas where change is necessary are identified.
How does the Blueprint for Pharmacy address the challenges affecting pharmacy today?
In 2008, CPhA surveyed pharmacists and asked them to list their primary concerns related to both personal practice and the profession of pharmacy.
Through our consultations, we learned that 96% of surveyed pharmacists believe that their major concerns are captured in the actions and deliverables in the Blueprint for Pharmacy’s five key areas:
- Pharmacy human resources
- Education and continuing professional development
- Information and communication technology
- Financial viability and sustainability
- Legislation, regulation and liability
Read the Consultation Report Governance
How is the Blueprint for Pharmacy governed?
The Blueprint for Pharmacy is governed by the Blueprint for Pharmacy Steering Committee (BPSC) and the Blueprint for Pharmacy National Coordinating Office (BP-NCO):
What does the Steering Committee do? Who are they made up of / how were they chosen?
The mandate of the BPSC is to monitor and facilitate the execution of the Blueprint for Pharmacy Implementation Plan. The BPSC is responsible for:
- providing a unified voice with regards to communications and advocacy (e.g., fundraising).
- facilitating the relationships necessary to build consensus and achieving the vision for pharmacy.
- providing leadership and vision to steer the implementation of Blueprint for Pharmacy related activities.
- setting priorities regarding the work to be carried out as part of the implementation plan.
- setting priorities regarding the purpose of funds to be raised for the Fundraising Committee; and monitoring the dispersal of received funds earmarked for specific purposes.
- monitoring progress on implementation.
- reporting to stakeholders on implementation progress.
- providing advice on the operations of the Blueprint for Pharmacy National Coordinating Office (BP-NCO).
The Task Force on a Blueprint for Pharmacy invited national and provincial organizations to nominate leaders to represent their organizations, but more importantly, the interests of patients, pharmacists and pharmacy technicians.
View the list of Blueprint for Pharmacy Steering Committee members
What is the role of the BP-NCO and why is it important?
CPhA established the Blueprint National Coordinating Office (BP-NCO) to ensure that the Implementation Plan and its deliverables are being addressed in an integrated and timely fashion. The BP-NCO, supported by CPhA with in-kind staff resources and funding, as well as funding from other pharmacy organizations, will be responsible for coordinating the communication, knowledge translation, stakeholder engagement, fundraising and reporting among stakeholders involved in achieving the Vision for Pharmacy. The BP-NCO will avoid duplication and streamline efforts in fulfilling the deliverables of the Implementation Plan.
Activities and Implementation
What is the Blueprint for Pharmacy Implementation Plan?
The Blueprint for Pharmacy Implementation Plan is a living document that lists 53 key strategic actions and 133 deliverables in five key areas:
- Pharmacy human resources
- Education and continuing professional development
- Information and communication technology
- Financial viability and sustainability
- Legislation, regulation and liability
Also included in this document is a list of essential steps, priorities, timelines and leaders for carrying out the work.
What are the major activities? What are the timelines?
The following list describes the high level activities of the Blueprint for Pharmacy Implementation Plan. Timelines for achieving these activities vary from 6 months to 5 years. The majority are to be implemented by September 2011.
High Level Activities
Describe emerging and innovative professional pharmacy services, including but not limited to expected patient outcomes, resource requirements, workforce roles and skill requirements, and legislative enablers.
- Define required changes (e.g. to education, to legislations, to facilities, to human resources) to facilitate the implementation of emerging innovative professional pharmacy services.
- Enhance experiential learning opportunities.
- Introduce appropriate regulatory frameworks to authorize pharmacists (and pharmacy technicians) to deliver expanded professional pharmacy.
- Respond to the needs of International Pharmacy Graduates.
- Introduce initiatives to ensure that pharmacists and pharmacy technicians are able to have the required skills.
- Develop communications strategies and tools to facilitate the implementation of emerging and innovative professional pharmacy services (including, but not limited to: stakeholder engagement, buy-in from third-party insurers and other payers, awareness strategy for patients, caregivers and other health care providers).
- Develop new business models for each innovative and emerging professional pharmacy service, including the budget, revenue, expenses, and other costs associated with the delivery of the pharmacy service framework (including HR, ICT, ECPD and other related costs), the target audience, the compensation model, and the cost-effectiveness t determine financial viability, the return-on-investment and sustainability of the pharmacy service.
- Develop transition strategies to assist pharmacy employers to implement new professional pharmacy services and pharmacy proactive models.
- Conduct and disseminate pharmacy practice research to enhance pharmacy services and practice models, and patient safety (including, but not limited to: patient outcome research, workforce impact analysis).
Ensure that pharmacy is involved in government initiatives and committees that influence the profession and/or patient safety.
Monitor health policy and legislation that may impact the profession and/or patient safety.
Promote the use of common concepts, frameworks, principles and guidelines across jurisdictions whenever appropriate.
What are some of the challenges facing the implementation of the Blueprint for Pharmacy?
Implementing the Blueprint for Pharmacy will require accommodating and navigating the provincial differences in regulations and varying rates of implementation of new scopes of practice across Canada.
Enabling the profession to evolve to better meet the needs of Canadians is an ambitious change management exercise that will require time and much effort.
Implementing the Blueprint for Pharmacy will require human and financial resources to succeed and raising the funds required for these important activities will be challenging.
How can I get involved?
Sign the Personal Commitment to Act.
Read the Blueprint for Pharmacy Vision document and Implementation Plan.
Donate to the Blueprint for Pharmacy.
Support CPhA and your provincial association: www.pharmacists.ca
Where can I get more information?
To join the BP mailing list and receive our stakeholder update, Blueprint in Motion: Progress on the Blueprint for Pharmacy, please email blueprint@pharmacists.ca
For more information please contact:
Jennifer Noseworthy, Project Coordinator, Blueprint for Pharmacy
Tel: 613-523-7877, ext 225 or 1-800-917-9489
Fax: 613-523-0445