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PRP INSIGHTS: HOSPITAL PHARMACY PRACTICE REVIEW – RESPONDING TO REGISTRANT FEEDBACK
The Practice Review Program is a review of a pharmacy professional’s practice and the pharmacy where they work, conducted by a team of College Compliance Officers. The program aims to protect public safety by improving compliance with College bylaws and Professional Practice Policies to ensure consistent delivery of pharmacy services across BC. Compliance Officers have been conducting practice reviews in the hospital setting since April 2017. With some years of experience now, the Compliance Officer team would like to share and address some feedback received from registrants who have undergone a Pharmacy Professionals Review in a hospital setting.
Among the feedback received regarding the practice review process, the main area of concern was around impact on pharmacy workflow. Registrants expressed concern that in some cases, there was insufficient staff coverage available to backfill their shift while undergoing their Pharmacy Professionals Review.
Compliance Officers try to minimize disruption when conducting Pharmacy Professionals Reviews by observing registrants in their regular practice. This is best achieved when registrants are working in roles that allow for patient-registrant interaction within the focus areas that the Pharmacy Professionals Review is based on.
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The Pharmacy Professionals Review is grounded in Board-approved focus areas that were identified as having the most impact on patient safety. The focus areas differ between pharmacists and pharmacy technicians and are outlined here: |
In cases where a registrant is working in a role that does not allow for patient-registrant interaction, such as entering or verifying prescriber’s orders, the use of observation as the only assessment method becomes difficult. Compliance Officers will still need to assess the registrant’s knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform that task to ensure fundamental standards are understood and met. In these situations, the Compliance Officer will use other assessment methods that may include the use of questions or scenarios based on previous cases and the registrant may be asked to verbalize their process so the Compliance Officer can follow their thought process through the task.
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A reminder of the methods of assessment:
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Considering the assessment methods used and that reviews are scheduled as one-on-one 2-hour timeslots, there may be instances where a registrant may be required to take some time away from their role to talk through certain areas of the Pharmacy Professionals Review with the Compliance Officer. When this occurs, there may be a temporary interruption to the registrant’s assigned work duties.
When conducting reviews, Compliance Officers will do their best to use observation as the primary method of assessment, as much as possible. Compliance Officers are cognizant of required tasks such as STAT orders or other urgent situations that may occur during the practice review and will always try to maintain an even balance between observation and other methods of assessment.
While there is no requirement from the College to schedule additional staff during practice reviews, it is important that pharmacy managers are aware of how a Pharmacy Professionals Review is conducted so they can make informed decisions on how best to allocate staffing resources to minimize any potential impact on the pharmacy workflow. When scheduling Pharmacy Professionals Reviews, pharmacy managers should take into account the potential for disruptions and determine if additional staff coverage is needed by considering the following factors:
- Registrant role
- Review criteria within each focus area that the Compliance Officer needs to assess
- Registrant workload
- Pharmacy workflow
Because each pharmacy is unique, it is up to the pharmacy manager to decide if additional staff coverage is needed.
We hope this information provides a clearer picture on how a Hospital Pharmacy Professionals Review is conducted and helps hospital pharmacy managers have a better understanding of what to expect when their pharmacy is scheduled for a Pharmacy Practice Review.
QUESTIONS
If you have any questions, please contact the Program Coordinator at [email protected].
To learn more about the Practice Review Program visit bcpharmacists.org/prp.
- Practice Review Program, PRP Insights