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1-833-531-3456
umcg.group@gmail.com
42 Tuxedo Ct, Scarborough
The Ontario Government supports the role of the pharmacist as part of an integrated team that provides an enhanced level of care to their patients.
The Smoke Free Ontario Strategy also recognizes pharmacists as a valuable support for Ontarians who want to quit smoking. Effective September 1, 2011 community pharmacists will be funded by the Ontario Government for their expertise in providing a smoking cessation program to Ontario Drug Benefit (ODB) recipients.
Ontarians visit their community pharmacist for prescription dispensing services as well as clinical advice on their medications including over-the-counter drugs and herbal therapies through the MedsCheck program. The convenience of the local pharmacy and access to a health professional like the community pharmacist, are vital components in a quit smoking program. The community pharmacist is familiar with the drug therapy needs of their patients and they are key advisors to the public on all areas of wellness.
Pharmacists will be available to support patients who want to quit smoking by adding to the choice of options for counselling, by providing quit smoking materials and by improving access to smoking cessation services for those with chronic diseases. A smoking cessation program will see the community pharmacist providing a one to one support service and advice to ODB recipients who want to give up smoking. The program includes a readiness assessment where a patient may enrol in the smoking cessation program with the pharmacy as well as a first consultation and a number of follow-up counselling sessions over a one-year period.
The pharmacist will help to facilitate access to and where appropriate supply, appropriate stop smoking drugs and aids. For example, if a patient could benefit from prescription therapy to stop smoking, a pharmacist should engage the patient’s primary prescriber to determine if a prescribed therapy is appropriate.
The objectives of the Smoking Cessation program include: • To align with the principles of other smoking cessation programs in primary health care and community settings to provide smokers with a continuum of care. • To communicate to the public regarding the value of smoking cessation services by community pharmacists and promotion of availability of services • To improve access to and choice of stop smoking services, including advice on smoking cessation therapy and options, support tools, resources and follow-up. • To provide patients with a consistent, evidence-based standard of care based on a screening mechanism, cessation counselling, structured documentation and support.
Who is eligible for a Pharmacy Smoking Cessation program?
While the smoking cessation program is available for reimbursement to Ontario Drug Benefit (OBD) recipients who smoke, future consideration may be given to expanding program eligibility to non-ODB patients based on the experiences and outcomes of the program. Currently, ODB recipients may enrol in the program once per year from the date of the patient’s first meeting with the pharmacist at which time they have agreed to work together on a stop smoking strategy. When should a Smoking Cessation service be conducted by the pharmacist? A patient who smokes may self-identify his / her interest in the smoking cessation program. However, as pharmacists are in dialogue with their patients and caregivers daily for MedsCheck appointments, for front-shop questions and in fulfilling their dispensing services, there are many opportune times to talk about smoking cessation.
Pharmacist Fact Sheet – Smoking Cessation Program Ontario Public Drug Programs, Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care Launched September 1, 2011 Please refer to program details and frequently asked questions for further information. Restrictions apply.
Patient Eligibility: • Ontario Drug Benefit (ODB) Recipients Description: •
The pharmacist has the opportunity to support patients seeking smoking cessation counselling support, to provide quit smoking materials and linkages to other community supports as appropriate. • Includes a number of counselling sessions between the pharmacist and the patient over a one-year period, including an in-depth initial consultation meeting (after completing a readiness assessment where a patient enrols in the program). Uses the 5A’s algorithm (Ask, Advise, Assess, Assist, Arrange) at all points of contact between the patient and the pharmacist and includes documenting each point of contact using the smoking cessation template forms.
Process for conducting a smoking cessation program: •
Readiness Assessment: a questionnaire to determine the patient’s desire to quit smoking; once completed and the patient agrees to program enrolment including a willingness to set a quit date; the patient signs for both enrolment and consent to share information within the circle of care. • First consultation meeting: an in-depth consultation between the pharmacist and the patient that takes place in the community pharmacy (approximately 20 minutes). The intent is to discuss the patient’s smoking history; his/her tobacco use; medication history; health risks, triggers / strategies; a quit date and pharmacotherapy needs. The meeting will ensure the patient understands the goals and objectives of the program including their responsibilities towards success. • Follow-up counseling sessions: are to provide ongoing support for the patient by getting an update on their smoking status, addressing any concerns or issues that have arisen and to reinforce smoke-free positive behaviours used by the patient.
Documentation Requirements:
Each point of contact and/or all meetings/sessions between the pharmacist and the patient must be documented to ensure program continuity and for the purposes of counselling, support, data analysis, evaluation and claims adjudication. • Standardized template forms are provided by the Ontario Government as minimum mandatory standards of care to assist pharmacists in the documentation at each patient point of contact. While pharmacists may develop their own forms, the standardized templates from the ministry need to be adapted to maintain a consistency of the program protocol. • Program withdrawal + Program success: Should the patient decide that he/she needs to withdraw from the program; the pharmacist is required to document program withdrawal and program success including reasons provided using the standardized template. Record Keeping • All documentation forms and pharmacy records submitted through the ODB Health Network System PIN mechanism are subject to audit and must be maintained in a readily retrievable format and kept on file at the pharmacy: a) for a minimum period of two years for ODB audit purposes; b) as part of the patient health record, for a minimum of 10 years from the last recorded professional pharmacy service provided to the patient or until 10 years after the day on which the patient reached or would have reached the age of 18 years, whichever is longer.