1. It takes a team: collaboration inside and out
- Date: 2022-10-12
- Concurrent Session: Concurrent Session B
- Time: 1:45- 2:30 pm
- Room:
- Style: Presentation (information provided to audience, with opportunity for audience to ask question)
- Focus: Balance between both (e.g. Presentation of a best-practice guideline that combines research evidence, policy issues and practical steps for implementation)
- Target Audience: Leadership (ED, clinical lead, board chair, board member, etc.)
Learning Objectives:
- Mobilize OHT collaborative partnerships to deliver on community needs
- Efficiently roll-out the distribution of a newly approved medication to the community by leveraging specialty expertise of the local hospital, community labs and primary care teams
- Understand the role of the primary care pharmacist in implementing a new drug program including reconciling active medications, identifying and managing drug interactions, providing individualized patient counselling, and proactively monitoring for tolerance and adherence
- Integrate with existing programs to extend care for high risk patients
Summary/Abstract:
The novel COVID treatment, Paxlovid, an oral antiviral tablet, was approved by Health Canada in January 2022. With the rapidly spreading and highly transmissible Omicron variant, there was a need to provide quick access to this treatment for high-risk individuals. The Ministry of Health approved the distribution and prescription of Paxlovid in 15 locations, only one of which was a community clinic. The lead physician for this clinic had already worked closely with several Mississauga OHT partners to establish a COVID Cold and Flu Care Clinic (CCFCC) and leveraged those partnerships to plan, develop and implement a fully functional Paxlovid clinic within 10 days. Since the CCFCC was built from a physician-led practice, and not an inter-professional care team (IPCT), this local partnership made the clinic possible. Medical leadership from the clinic was augmented by clinical pharmacists from three IPCTs who prepared novel materials for workflow and documentation and provided clinical assessment, education and counselling. The IPCTs also supported patient monitoring via the COVID@Home program. The hospital provided storage and distribution of the medication and back-up pharmacy and specialist support for complex immunocompromised patients. Community labs and point of care equipment reduced time from completing tests to accessing treatment. Situated in a highly accessible location, the clinic has been able to address health equity issues and reduce the potential barriers of hospital-only treatment. This prototype Paxlovid Clinic has served as an operational model expanding Paxlovid prescribing to other CCFCCs and enabling the IPCTs to expand their capacity to support patients with COVID therapeutics. Additionally, this clinic has been a resource to the community as Paxlovid is now accessible through prescription by any primary care provider.
Presenter:
- Dr. Sohal Goyal Medical Director, Mississauga Medical Arts Clinic
- Yali Gao, Primary Care Pharmacist, Summerville Family Health Team
- Heather Hadden Primary Care Pharmacist CarePoint Health
- Ian Lin Primary Care Pharmacist Credit Valley Family Health Team