Download september 2012 - College of Pharmacists of Manitoba

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The Manitoba Pharmaceutical Association
NEWSLETTER
200 Tache Avenue, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada R2H 1A7
Telephone (204) 233-1411 • Fax (204) 237-3468 • Email: [email protected]
Website: www.mpha.ca
SEPTEMBER 2012
OFFICERS
Kyle MacNair, President, Carman
Kristine Petrasko, Vice President, Winnipeg
Geoff Namaka, Exec. Treasurer, Winnipeg
Shawn Budgen, Past President, Morden
COUNCILLORS
Dr. Neal Davies, Dean, Winnipeg
Jennifer Ludwig, Brandon
Glenda Marsh, Brandon
Dinah Santos, Winnipeg
Kurt Schroeder, Selkirk
Randall Stephanchew, Winnipeg
LAY MEMBERS
Donna Forbes
Kim Sharman
LIAISON MEMBERS
Jarrid McKitrick, C.S.H.P. (MB. Branch)
Melissa Gobin, Student Liaison
Brenna Shearer, M.S.P. Liaison
Rob Shaffer, Government Liaison
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Licence Renewal this Fall!
To be eligible for licence renewal, practicing pharmacists are required to
participate in a minimum of 25 hours of professional development (PD) learning
activities by October 31st. Of the 25 hours, a minimum of 15 hours must be from
accredited learning activities with a balance of 10 hours of participation in either
accredited or non-accredited learning activities.
Members can record their professional development hours by accessing the new
online PD Log after signing into their account on the MPhA website. All relevant
links are under the 'My Professional Development' tab, including a guide to using
the PD Log. Please note that members may submit electronic copies of their PD
Logs to MPhA for this PD year, but next year the use of the online PD Logs will be
the only method to record your PD activities in order to qualify for licensure.
All practicing pharmacists are required to submit their PD Logs as well as their
th
licence renewal applications by November 30 . If not received by November
30th, the fee for licence renewal will increase by fifty percent. In October, Council
will be announcing this year's licence renewal fees. Please watch for that
information in an upcoming issue of Friday Five.
ASSOCIATION STAFF
Ronald Guse, Registrar
Susan Lessard-Friesen, Deputy Registrar
Ross Forsyth, Assistant Registrar
Kim McIntosh, Assistant Registrar
Rem Weiss, Field Officer
Ronda Eros,
Professional Practice Consultant
Kathy Wright, Executive Assistant
Bev Robinson, Administrative Assistant
Pamela Gordon, Administrative Secretary
Lita Hnatiuk,
Communications & Quality Assurance Secretary
VISION
Creating the Framework for
Excellence in Pharmacy Practice
MISSION
To protect the health and well being of the public by
ensuring and promoting safe, patient centered and
progressive pharmacy practice.
VALUES
The MPhA activities are based on the following
values and are the foundation of what we do:
~ Integrity ~ Respect ~ Excellence
~ Accountability ~ Collaboration
~ Life Long Learning
included in this mailing . . .
•
•
•
Canadian Adverse Reaction Newsletters
Volume 22 - Issue 3 - July 2012
NAPRA National Drug Schedules Notice Board
Structured Practical Experimental Program (SPEP) Update 2011-2012
This NEWSLETTER is published by The Manitoba Pharmaceutical Association and is
forwarded to every licensed pharmacist in the Province of Manitoba. Decisions of the
Manitoba Pharmaceutical Association regarding all matters such as regulations, drug
related incidents, etc. are published in the Newsletter. The Manitoba Pharmaceutical
Association therefore assumes that all pharmacists are aware of these matters.
The Manitoba Pharmaceutical Association
200 Tache Avenue, Winnipeg, MB R2H 1A7
Phone: (204) 233-1411 • Fax: (204) 237-3468
E-mail: [email protected]
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SEPTEMBER 2012
MPhA Newsletter
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Pharmacy Technicians
UPDATE
GABAPENTIN
Potential for Abuse
The MPhA welcomes pharmacy technicians to our
newsletter. The regulatory oversight of pharmacy
technicians is an ongoing, national project that will enable
pharmacists to focus on the provision of patient-centered
care. Pharmacy technicians will have an expanded scope
of technical roles dealing with the preparation and
assessment of prescriptions.
According to the British Columbia Drug and Poison
Information Centre and reports from Manitoba,
pharmacists need to be aware of the possibility of abuse
and misuse of gabapentin. Gabapentin is used as an
adjunctive therapy for epilepsy, as well as management of
neuropathic pain. Therapy is initially titrated to improve
tolerability of side effects and to assess effectiveness of
therapy. Discontinuation of therapy must also be tapered
over a period of time as patients often experience
withdrawal symptoms such as insomnia, anxiety,
sweating and nausea similar to symptoms of
benzodiazepine withdrawal.
The MPhA recently made a revision to our website to
include information related to pharmacy technicians.
Found on the “Pharmacy Practice” page of the MPhA
website, the “Pharmacy Technicians” section has been
updated with the following:
•
Requirements for becoming a pharmacy
technician under the December 2006
Pharmaceutical Act;
•
a Frequently Asked Questions section related to
pharmacy technicians;
•
a PDF document detailing duties currently
permitted for pharmacy technicians, along with a
list of duties that will be permitted upon
proclamation of the “Pharmaceutical Act of
December 2006;”and
•
Useful links to pharmacy technician related
websites.
Along with this information is the invitation for pharmacy
technicians and assistants to receive the electronic MPhA
newsletter and email.
Under the new legislation pharmacy technicians will be
allowed to perform the technical duties that were
previously assigned to pharmacists, allowing pharmacists
more time to focus on the clinical and cognitive needs of
patients. With this extended responsibility, pharmacy
technicians need to be kept up to date with the latest in
pharmacy practices through publications such as this
newsletter.
To date, fifty-six technicians/assistants have signed up for
this program. Have you informed your pharmacy
technicians of this new provision? If not, please do so
today!
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SEPTEMBER 2012
MPhA Newsletter
Initially, gabapentin was thought to have a low potential for
abuse. However, due to its possible psychoactive effects,
abuse does occur. It has been a drug of abuse in persons
with a prior history of cocaine or alcohol dependency.
Gabapentin is used to help deal with cravings or
withdrawal symptoms or as a substitute for the addiction.
Recreational abuse of gabapentin is widely reported on
the internet as well.
The federal government Non-Insured Health Benefits
Program has included gabapentin in its Prescription
Monitoring Program (NIHB-PMP) which addresses
concerns over potential abuse or misuse of prescription
medications such as benzodiazepines, opioids and
stimulants. Under this program, a patient's utilization of
these medications is reviewed and if it exceeds a safe
established threshold, the client is contacted to choose a
single prescriber for these medications. Additional
information on this program can be found at
h t t p : / / w w w. h c - s c . g c . c a / f n i a h spnia/alt_formats/pdf/pubs/nihb-ssna/drug-med/pmppsm/index-eng.pdf
Pharmacists should be monitoring patient usage and
frequency of refills for this medication and be on the alert
for potential abuse.
In Memoriam
Jean Rose, Deceased: June 30/12
Patricia Taylor, Deceased: July 10/12
Charles Newbury, Deceased: July 11/12
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September Administration of Injections
Practical Skills Workshops
One hundred and five Members of the Manitoba
Pharmaceutical Association participated in the
Administration of Injections Practical Skills Workshops
and successfully completed the Administration of
Injections Training Program for Manitoba Pharmacists this
September. The program was put on by the MPhA in
collaboration with the University of Manitoba Faculty of
Pharmacy and Faculty of Nursing to teach the participants
how to administer subcutaneous, intramuscular, and
intradermal injections and immunizations. The first
workshop was scheduled for Friday, September 7, 2012,
and filled up almost immediately, so another workshop
th
was offered on Wednesday, September 5 , 2012.
Prior to attending the workshop, participants were
required to complete the online CCCEP-accredited
program entitled, “Immunization Competencies
Education Program” (ICEP), the Manitoba Specific
Module which was made available on the Advancing
Practice website on August 27, 2012, and possess valid
certification in CPR Level C or Level HCP and Emergency
or Standard First Aid from an accredited training program.
The workshop days started off with a brief review of the
learning modules that participants completed in advance
of the workshop, and an introduction to the seven rights of
medication administration, landmarking, and injection
technique. After the didactic presentations by Casey
Sayre and Theresa Bowser, participants spent the rest of
the day on the practical portion of the workshop.
Pharmacists were able to apply theory and receive handson training to practice their new skills. Participants
demonstrated an intramuscular (IM) and subcutaneous
(SQ) injection on one of their peers for Faculty of Nursing
staff in order to successfully complete the practical skills
workshop.
the Manitoba Society of Pharmacists on the
Administration of Injections Training Program for
Manitoba Pharmacists. Many individuals were involved
in the development of the program. The Manitoba
Pharmaceutical Association would like to acknowledge all
those who helped with the development of the program
and would like to send special thanks to Theresa Bowser
from the University of Manitoba, Faculty of Nursing, and
Casey Sayre, Chris Louizos and Lavern Vercaigne from
the University of Manitoba, Faculty of Pharmacy for their
countless hours of hard work and dedication to the
program.
Please remember that pharmacists will not be
permitted to administer injections until the December
2006 Pharmaceutical Act is proclaimed, even if they
have successfully completed all the requirements.
Only once all of the supporting legislation is in place,
final regulations are approved by the members and
proclaimed by government, can this area of practice
be implemented. Once the legislation is in place, only
members who have successfully completed the
training program, and hold a practicing licence, will be
able to administer injections in Manitoba.
The MPhA is pleased to announce that additional
workshops are being planned for 2013. Members will be
updated on future dates as further information becomes
available.
The MPhA was pleased to collaborate with the Canadian
Society of Hospital Pharmacists Manitoba Branch;
Faculty of Nursing, University of Manitoba; Faculty of
Pharmacy, University of Manitoba; Manitoba Health; and
Administration of Injections Practical Skills Workshop, Sept 7, 2012.
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SEPTEMBER 2012
MPhA Newsletter
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focus on patient safety
Building an awareness for the systems that can lead to adverse events and changing the
culture from “blaming” to reporting and learning from medication adverse events are
some of the key steps in addressing patient safety in pharmacy practice. It is hoped that
this column may facilitate taking those key steps.
Preventing Methotrexate Dosing Errors
•
Pharmacists are the final check and safeguard for the
patient receiving the right drug, dose and treatment plan.
Patients do not get medication unless the prescription is
approved by the pharmacist. Many times, through the day,
pharmacists prevent many medication mishaps and
provide that important final check for patient safety.
If methotrexate is ordered with a dosing frequency
more often than weekly, and the indication is unclear,
contact the prescriber to verify the appropriateness of
the dosing schedule.
•
Ensure that a pharmacist reviews every methotrexate
order for dosing accuracy before dispensing.
•
Include explicit dosing instructions such as the day of
the week on pharmacy-generated labels.
•
Ensure written information provided to the patient
about the use of methotrexate has appropriate dosing
listed.
•
Pharmacists counsel on all methotrexate
prescriptions to remind patients of once weekly
dosing.
•
Encourage patients to keep track of the day of the
week they take each dose of methotrexate such as
marking off the date on a calendar.
•
When possible, dispense only 1 month's supply of
methotrexate at a time to prompt a review and followup if the patient makes a refill request sooner than
anticipated.
•
Build alerts in electronic prescribing systems and
pharmacy information systems prompting
practitioners to review the indication and dosing
frequency on prescriptions for methotrexate.
Methotrexate, originally introduced as a valuable
chemotherapy agent used to treat a variety of cancers is
also commonly prescribed to treat autoimmune
disorders, such as rheumatoid arthritis and has a wide
variance in daily and weekly dosing regimens depending
upon the condition being treated. It is critical to confirm the
prescribed dosage is consistent with the condition being
treated, is safe and the dispensed dose accurately reflects
the prescribed dose as the drug has a small therapeutic
window and a high risk for fatality in cases of overdose.
All oral methotrexate prescriptions must receive
additional checks for appropriate dosing and
counseling to ensure the patient's understanding of
how to take the prescribed dose. All pharmacists must
be on high alert anytime they are dispensing methotrexate
whether as a refill or new prescription.
Pharmacists must thoroughly review all prescription
orders prior to dispensing, immediately intervene with
prescribers if dosing is incorrect or unclear and
thoroughly counsel patients on all prescriptions for
methotrexate, whether a refill or new prescription, with
no exception.
The Institute for Safe Medication Practices Canada made
recommendations to prevent medication incidents
associated with weekly oral methotrexate dosing in the
ISMP bulletin dated April 4, 2008. The measures
suggested include:
For the complete ISMP Canada Safety Bulletin on
Incidents of Inadvertent Daily Administration of
Methotrexate (Volume 8, Issue 2, April 4, 2008) visit the
ISMP Canada website at :
http://ismpcanada.org/download/safetyBulletins/ISMPCSB200802Methotrexate.pdf
continued on next page . . .
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SEPTEMBER 2012
MPhA Newsletter
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New MIPS Resources on Patient Safety
- Coming in the Fall
The Manitoba Institute for Patient Safety (MIPS) will be
launching new resources in October. These resources are
part of the It's Safe to Ask health literacy initiative. They
complement the Self-Advocacy For Everyone (SAFE)
toolkit.
One resource is a Declaration of Patient and Family
Engagement in Patient Safety. The purposes of this
resource are to:
• Help patients and families be more involved in their care
decisions
• Confirm that patient values and input are key parts of a
culture of patient safety
• Support efforts that include patient values in healthcare
policies and actions
The second resource is a S.A.F.E. Patients Blog. The
purposes of the blog are to:
• Educate the public on self-advocacy related to patient
safety topics and patient involvement in their health care
decisions
• Connect people with patient safety resources
• Support people who want to learn how to be engaged in
their health care
• Share lessons learned on advocacy in health care
The health care system is complex and not easily
understood. People can be nervous about being involved
and asking questions. This blog is a place for the public to
share their lessons learned and to learn from others about
how to be more comfortable and involved in their care
decisions and talks with their health care team. The blog site
will link with Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and RSS feed.
We encourage you and your clients to visit the
www.safetoask.ca website and follow the topics and related
discussions when the blog is launched in the fall.
Medication incidents (including near
misses or good catches) can be reported
to ISMP Canada:
(i) through the website:
http://www.ismp-canada.org/err_report.htm or
(ii) by phone: 416-733-3131 or toll free: 1-866-544-7672
ISMP Canada guarantees confidentiality and security of
information received, and respects the wishes of the reporter
as to the level of detail to be included in publications.
Institute for Safe Medication Practices Canada
(ISMP Canada)
4711 Yonge Street, Suite 501, Toronto, ON M2N 6K8
416-733-3131 or 1-866-544-7672 (1-866-54-ISMPC)
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.ismp-canada.org
ISMP Canada Newsletter Subscriptions
ISMP Canada Safety Bulletins are designed to disseminate
timely, targeted information to reduce the risk of medication
incidents. The purpose of the bulletins is to confidentially
share the information received about medication incidents
which have occurred and to suggest medication system
improvement strategies for enhancing patient safety. The
bulletins will also share alerts and warnings specific to the
Canadian market place.
The following ISMP Canada Safety Bulletins have been
issued since the last issue of the MPhA Newsletter.
2012 - ISMP Canada
•
•
•
•
Canadian Medication Incident Reporting
and Prevention System (CMIRPS)
CMIRPS is a national voluntary medication incident and 'near
miss' reporting program founded for the purpose of sharing
the learning experiences from medication errors.
Implementation of preventative strategies and system
safeguards to decrease the risk for error-induced injury and
thereby promote medication safety in healthcare is our
collaborative goal.
Vol. 12 Issue 9 - Concerned Reporting: Mix-ups
between Bisoprolol and Bisacodyl
Vol. 12 Issue 8 - Pharmaceutical Bar Coding: National
Recommendations
Vol. 12 Issue 7 - Identifying Knowledge Deficits Related
to HYDROmorphone
Vol. 12 Issue 6 - ALERT: Medication Mix-up with Faxed
Prescription
All issues of the ISMP Canada Safety Bulletins, including
those issued in previous years, are freely downloadable from
the ISMP Canada website at www.ismp-canada.org .
ISMP Canada is pleased to distribute The Medication Safety
Alert! (US) newsletters along with ISMP Canada Safety
Bulletins to Canadian practitioners and corporations. To
subscribe and for more information on all ISMP Canada's
publications, events and services visit the ISMP Canada
website at www.ismp-canada.org .
If you have made changes in your pharmacy,
which focus on patient safety that you would like to
share with your colleagues, please contact
Susan Lessard-Friesen at 204-233-1411.
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SEPTEMBER 2012
MPhA Newsletter
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Practice Advisories for
Patient Safety
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•
•
Part of the MPhA Council's commitment to enhance the
quality of care and patient safety in Manitoba pharmacies
was to instruct the Chair of the Complaints Committee to
issue a report following meetings of the Committee.
The intention of the information is to inform pharmacists of
medication incidents thereby providing an opportunity to
relate and reflect upon their practice.
PROTECTION OF PERSONAL HEALTH
INFORMATION
Over the past several months the Complaints Committee
has received an increasing number of complaints from the
public regarding failure to ensure privacy and
confidentiality of personal health information (PHI) within
the pharmacy. These complaints describe situations in
which prescription information has been left in view of the
public in the dispensary or when prescription information
or medication/medical histories are overheard by others
during discussions by pharmacy staff with and/or about
patients.
The Personal Health Information Act (PHIA) sets out to
protect the rights of patients to access their health
information as well as to protect the privacy and security of
their information. Under PHIA, pharmacists shall protect
personal health information by adopting reasonable
administrative, technical and physical safeguards that
ensure confidentiality, security, accuracy and integrity of
the information. The MPhA Code of Ethics requires
pharmacists to respect the confidential and personal
nature of patient health information and the records of this
information kept by the pharmacy. Standards of Practice
state that pharmacists shall provide patient medication
counseling in an atmosphere of patient confidentiality and
privacy.
Pharmacy site requirements include a
confidential and private area within the pharmacy to
counsel patients. In addition, safeguards such as the
Joint Statement on the Facsimile Transmission of
Prescriptions are in place to ensure the security, privacy
and confidentiality of PHI when it is sent to and received by
the pharmacy.
Pharmacists must be vigilant to protect patient health
information during every step of the patient care process
receipt, entry and storage of prescription records, patient
counseling and destruction of patient information.
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SEPTEMBER 2012
MPhA Newsletter
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•
Is the public able to view prescriptions sitting on the
counter waiting to be entered?
Is the information on the computer screen visible to
the public?
Are you counseling patients in an area that provides
privacy and confidentiality?
Are you aware of other patients or customers nearby
during patient discussions?
Does your pharmacy properly destroy and dispose of
patient information?
Take a fresh look around your pharmacy to find ways to
improve how you protect patient privacy and
confidentiality. Discuss the importance of PHIA with your
staff to ensure all are aware of their responsibility in
protecting patient health information.
Canadian Patient Safety Week
October 29 - November 2, 2012
Ask. Listen. Talk.
Put the spotlight on patient
safety issues, share
information about best
practices, and grow your
patient safety and quality
initiatives during Canadian
Patient Safety Week.
Canadian Patient Safety
Week is a national annual
campaign started in 2005 to inspire extraordinary
improvement in patient safety and quality. Working
together, thousands of healthcare professionals, patients,
and families help spread the message that good
healthcare starts with good communication.
This year Canadian Patient Safety Week takes place from
October 29 to November 2, 2012. During this week, you
can participate in activities and events designed to help
our healthcare system ensure that every patient
experience is safe.
Further information will be sent to all members via our
Friday Five e-newsletter.
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Discipline Decision
4.
Kaur Singh Sidhu
Pursuant to Notices of Hearing dated the 22nd day of
March, 2011 (Notice #1), and the 3rd day of November,
2011 (Notice #2), it was alleged that Kaur Singh Sidhu,
being a pharmacist under the provisions of the Act, and a
registrant of the Association, was guilty of unskilled
practice or professional misconduct, as described in
Section 35 of the Act.
5.
Mr. Sidhu entered a plea of guilty to the following, in that in
2010, he did:
NOTICE #1:
3. in his role of pharmacist and /or pharmacy manager at
Zellers Pharmacy, add refills to prescriptions for
patient “HG” without requesting or obtaining the
authorization of the prescribing physician; and
4. in his role of pharmacist and/or pharmacy manager,
upon receiving a request to transfer prescriptions to a
particular pharmacy, transfer the prescriptions for
patient “HG” from the Zellers Pharmacy to a
pharmacy he selected and not the pharmacy
authorized by the patient's agent;
6.
7.
NOTICE #2:
1. in or about September and October 2010, in his role as
pharmacist and/or pharmacy manager at the Zellers
Pharmacy he contacted patients in order to have them
transfer their prescriptions to other pharmacies in
which he had or intended to have a direct or indirect
financial interest;
2. in or about September or October 2010, in his role as
pharmacist and/or pharmacy manager at the Zellers
Pharmacy, he transferred prescriptions for patients to
another pharmacy or pharmacies in which he had or
intended to have a direct or indirect financial interest,
and intentionally misidentified the pharmacy or
pharmacies in the Zellers Pharmacy records in order
to conceal the true destination of the transferred
prescriptions;
3. in or about September or October 2010, in his role as
pharmacist and/or pharmacy manager at the Zellers
Pharmacy, he transferred prescriptions for patients to
another pharmacy or pharmacies in which he had or
intended to have a direct or indirect financial interest
and failed to record the name of the pharmacy filling
the prescriptions, thereby breaching sub-section 21(i)
of Pharmaceutical Regulation P60 R.M. 56/92;
8.
in or about September or October 2010, in his role as
pharmacist and/or pharmacy manager at the Zellers
Pharmacy, he transferred prescriptions for patients
“AT”, “ET” and “KP” from the Zellers Pharmacy to
another pharmacy or pharmacies in which he had or
intended to have a direct or indirect financial interest,
without obtaining the patients' authorizations for the
transfers of their prescriptions;
in or about September or October 2010, in his role as
pharmacist and/or pharmacy manager at the Zellers
Pharmacy, he transferred prescriptions for patient
“MH” from the Zellers Pharmacy to another pharmacy
in which he had or intended to have a direct or indirect
financial interest, without obtaining the patient's
authorization for the transfer of the prescriptions to
that pharmacy;
in or about October through December 2010, in his
role as pharmacist at Danial Pharmacy located at #2
505 Sargent Avenue, Winnipeg, Manitoba, he
contacted patients who were customers/clients of
Zellers Pharmacy in order to have them transfer their
prescriptions to another pharmacy or pharmacies in
which he had or intended to have a direct or indirect
financial interest;
in or about January through February 2011, in his role
as pharmacist and/or pharmacy manager at River
East Pharmacy located at 1417A Henderson
Highway, Winnipeg, Manitoba, he contacted patients
who were formerly customers/clients of Zellers
Pharmacy in order to have them transfer their
prescriptions to River East Pharmacy in which he had
a direct or indirect financial interest, and
by using patients' personal health information to
contact the customers/clients and former
customers/clients of the Zellers Pharmacy to solicit
their business, he breached Section 21 of the
Personal Health Information Act of Manitoba.
The Discipline Committee accepted that the sanctions
contained in the joint recommended disposition served to
satisfy that the public's interest was protected and public's
confidence was retained and found, pursuant to section
36(2) of the Act, that Mr. Sidhu was guilty of unskilled
practice and professional misconduct, and pursuant to
section 38(1)(a) and (b) ordered that Mr. Sidhu pay:
a. a fine to the amount of $4,000.00; and
b. a contribution towards the costs of the investigations
and proceedings in the amount of $16,000.00, within
30 days hereof.
Mr. Sidhu has complied with this decision.
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SEPTEMBER 2012
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Awards Nominations
are Coming Soon!
Dinah Santos . . . Barbara Bromilow . . . Chuck McClure . . .
Cenzina Caligiuri . . . what do these pharmacists have in
common? All were the recipients of MPhA's prestigious
awards which were presented at The 2012 Pharmacy
Conference.
Manitoba Pharmaceutical
Association
2012 - 2014 Council and Liaison
FRONT ROW (L-R):
Jarrid McKitrick (CSHP Liaison),
Kristine Petrasko (Vice President), Dinah Santos,
Melissa Gobin (Pharmacy Student Liaison),
Jennifer Ludwig, Glenda Marsh, Jill Ell (MSP Liaison)
CENTRE ROW (L-R):
Neal Davies, Donna Forbes, Kim Sharman
BACK ROW (L-R):
Geoff Namaka (Executive Treasurer),
Kyle MacNair (President), Randy Stephanchew,
Shawn Bugden (Past President), Kurt Schroeder
Do you know a pharmacist who has made a significant
contribution to the profession during their career? Do you
know a pharmacist who demonstrates outstanding
excellence in optimizing patient care? Do you know a
pharmacist who is so dedicated to serving their
community, regardless of the personal sacrifice required?
Do you know a pharmacist who has made a significant
and lasting improvement to patient safety and healthcare
quality through a specific initiative or project?
If you answered “YES!” to any of these questions, you
could be nominating our next award winners. In coming
months, the MPhA will be accepting nominations for the
following awards:
•
•
•
•
•
The Pharmacist of the Year
Bonnie Schultz Award for Pharmacy Practice
Excellence
Bowl of Hygeia
Patient Safety Award
As well as Honorary Life Members, Honorary
Members, and Centennial Award Winners
Who will you nominate this year? Please visit the MPhA
website for more information on all of the awards.
Meet the Newest MPhA Staff!
Please welcome Ronda Eros, as she joins the staff at MPhA in a term position as Professional Practice Consultant. Ronda
brings her experience as a practicing pharmacist to assist the MPhA with pharmacy practice inquiries.
Lita Hnatiuk joined the MPhA administrative staff on August 7, 2012. Lita brings her communications experience to the MPhA
as the new Communications and Quality Assurance Secretary.
Thank you Melissa Gobin
Thanks to our summer student, Melissa Gobin, for her terrific contributions to the MPhA and the protection of the public. The
MPhA wishes her good luck in her studies at the University of Manitoba this fall.
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