Canadian Pharmacists Journal - May/June 2019 - 202

Original Research
is no longer commonplace or acceptable. Previous studies regarding barriers to pharmacy practice change have reported similar results as this
study, except for some key differences. Pharmacist level of interest, motivation and confidence
have been previously reported as barriers to
practice change, but in this study, these factors
have been reported as facilitators, suggesting a
possible shift in pharmacists' approach to practice change.20,21,23
Respondents of this study also highlighted
some novel issues that warrant additional discussion. First is the finding that many pharmacists
were concerned about the quality of the assessments being performed by "other" pharmacists.
Although "lack of pharmacist skills and expertise" has been previously noted as a common
barrier to practice change,23 issues related to
actual poor quality of care being observed raise
a high level of concern, which should be investigated further. In addition, the finding in this
study that pharmacists in Saskatchewan struggle
to complete assessments with highly complex
patients who are taking large numbers of medications is not surprising, but it is concerning
since these are the patients who will likely benefit the most from this service. The suggestion
from respondents that a referral-based system of
pharmacists with additional training (and time)
be created to assist with the management of

these patients is worthy of additional consideration and investigation. Developing and funding
an internal medicine pharmacist speciality practice within the primary care system has been
previously proposed as one possible option to
achieve this goal.24
This study has some limitations worth noting.
A response rate of 20.3%, while not uncommon
in surveys of health professionals, raises the possibility of nonresponder bias and may limit the
generalizability of the results.25 However, the
analysis that identified no differences between
the responses of early and late responders provides a degree of confidence that nonresponder
bias may not be significant in this study. It is also
a limitation that the organization that distributed the survey on the researchers' behalf, PAS,
had a database that only included 82.6% of practising pharmacists in Saskatchewan, since PAS is
a voluntary professional association.

Conclusion

Saskatchewan community pharmacists who participated in this survey perceived that the SMAP
is achieving all of its intended purposes. Pharmacists also reported high levels of personal
satisfaction and confidence in providing the
medication assessments, despite raising many
important issues that should be addressed to
improve the program in the future. ■

From Rosetown Pharmasave (Currie), Rosetown; the College of Pharmacy and Nutrition (Evans, Mansell, Perepelkin, Jorgenson),
University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Contact derek.jorgenson@usask.ca.
Author Contributions: K. Currie initiated the project; took the lead in designing the methodology, collecting and interpreting the
data; assisted with writing and reviewing the final manuscript. C. Evans, K. Mansell and J. Perepelkin assisted with designing the
methodology, interpreting the data and writing/reviewing the final manuscript. D. Jorgenson supervised the project; assisted with
designing the methodology, collecting and interpreting the data; and took the lead in writing/reviewing the final manuscript.
Financial Acknowledgements: This study was supported by an unrestricted research grant from the Pharmacy Association of
Saskatchewan. The funder was invited to provide feedback on the final questionnaire (as were the pharmacy regulatory body
in Saskatchewan and the Saskatchewan Ministry of Health), but the funder had no input or access to data collection or storage,
interpretation of the data or writing/reviewing the manuscript.
Statement of Conflicting Interests: The authors have no conflicts of interest to report.
ORCID iD: Derek Jorgenson

https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5790-4711

References
1. Canadian Pharmacists Association. Publicly-funded pharmacy services by province. 2015. Available: https://www
.pharmacists.ca/cpha-ca/assets/File/pharmacy-in-canada/
Publicly-Funded%20Pharmacy%20Services%20by%20
Province(1).pdf (accessed May 31, 2018).

202

2. Geurts MME, Talsma J, Brouwers JRBJ, de Gier JJ.
Medication review and reconciliation with cooperation
between pharmacist and general practitioner and the benefit for the patient: a systematic review. Br J Clin Pharmacol
2012;74(1):16-33.

C P J / R P C * M ay / J u n e 2 0 1 9 * V O L 1 5 2 , N O 3


https://www.orcid.org/0000-0001-5790-4711 https://www.pharmacists.ca/cpha-ca/assets/File/pharmacy-in-canada/Publicly-Funded%20Pharmacy%20Services%20by%20Province(1).pdf https://www.pharmacists.ca/cpha-ca/assets/File/pharmacy-in-canada/Publicly-Funded%20Pharmacy%20Services%20by%20Province(1).pdf https://www.pharmacists.ca/cpha-ca/assets/File/pharmacy-in-canada/Publicly-Funded%20Pharmacy%20Services%20by%20Province(1).pdf https://www.pharmacists.ca/cpha-ca/assets/File/pharmacy-in-canada/Publicly-Funded%20Pharmacy%20Services%20by%20Province(1).pdf

Canadian Pharmacists Journal - May/June 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Canadian Pharmacists Journal - May/June 2019

Regulation and innovation in practice – Not a “drug interaction”?
Dietary sodium and the health of Canadians
Professional abstinence: What does it mean for pharmacists?
Canada’s new Healthy Eating Strategy: Implications for health care professionals and a call to action
Report from the 2018 National Summit on Wicked Problems in Community Pharmacy
Medical abortion: A practice tool for pharmacists
Community-based management of epistaxis: Who bloody knows?
The pharmacist’s role in successful deprescribing through hospital medication reconciliation
Pharmacists to improve hypertension management: Guideline concordance from North America to Europe
The patient experience in a community pharmacy mental illness and addictions program
Community pharmacists’ experiences with the Saskatchewan Medication Assessment Program
Cross-Canada updates
The conference experience—Making it yours
Canadian Pharmacists Journal - May/June 2019 - Intro
Canadian Pharmacists Journal - May/June 2019 - Cover1
Canadian Pharmacists Journal - May/June 2019 - Cover2
Canadian Pharmacists Journal - May/June 2019 - 137
Canadian Pharmacists Journal - May/June 2019 - 138
Canadian Pharmacists Journal - May/June 2019 - 139
Canadian Pharmacists Journal - May/June 2019 - 140
Canadian Pharmacists Journal - May/June 2019 - 141
Canadian Pharmacists Journal - May/June 2019 - 142
Canadian Pharmacists Journal - May/June 2019 - Regulation and innovation in practice – Not a “drug interaction”?
Canadian Pharmacists Journal - May/June 2019 - 144
Canadian Pharmacists Journal - May/June 2019 - 145
Canadian Pharmacists Journal - May/June 2019 - 146
Canadian Pharmacists Journal - May/June 2019 - Dietary sodium and the health of Canadians
Canadian Pharmacists Journal - May/June 2019 - Professional abstinence: What does it mean for pharmacists?
Canadian Pharmacists Journal - May/June 2019 - 149
Canadian Pharmacists Journal - May/June 2019 - 150
Canadian Pharmacists Journal - May/June 2019 - Canada’s new Healthy Eating Strategy: Implications for health care professionals and a call to action
Canadian Pharmacists Journal - May/June 2019 - 152
Canadian Pharmacists Journal - May/June 2019 - 153
Canadian Pharmacists Journal - May/June 2019 - 154
Canadian Pharmacists Journal - May/June 2019 - 155
Canadian Pharmacists Journal - May/June 2019 - 156
Canadian Pharmacists Journal - May/June 2019 - 157
Canadian Pharmacists Journal - May/June 2019 - Report from the 2018 National Summit on Wicked Problems in Community Pharmacy
Canadian Pharmacists Journal - May/June 2019 - 159
Canadian Pharmacists Journal - May/June 2019 - Medical abortion: A practice tool for pharmacists
Canadian Pharmacists Journal - May/June 2019 - 161
Canadian Pharmacists Journal - May/June 2019 - 162
Canadian Pharmacists Journal - May/June 2019 - 163
Canadian Pharmacists Journal - May/June 2019 - Community-based management of epistaxis: Who bloody knows?
Canadian Pharmacists Journal - May/June 2019 - 165
Canadian Pharmacists Journal - May/June 2019 - 166
Canadian Pharmacists Journal - May/June 2019 - 167
Canadian Pharmacists Journal - May/June 2019 - 168
Canadian Pharmacists Journal - May/June 2019 - 169
Canadian Pharmacists Journal - May/June 2019 - 170
Canadian Pharmacists Journal - May/June 2019 - 171
Canadian Pharmacists Journal - May/June 2019 - 172
Canadian Pharmacists Journal - May/June 2019 - 173
Canadian Pharmacists Journal - May/June 2019 - 174
Canadian Pharmacists Journal - May/June 2019 - 175
Canadian Pharmacists Journal - May/June 2019 - 176
Canadian Pharmacists Journal - May/June 2019 - The pharmacist’s role in successful deprescribing through hospital medication reconciliation
Canadian Pharmacists Journal - May/June 2019 - 178
Canadian Pharmacists Journal - May/June 2019 - 179
Canadian Pharmacists Journal - May/June 2019 - Pharmacists to improve hypertension management: Guideline concordance from North America to Europe
Canadian Pharmacists Journal - May/June 2019 - 181
Canadian Pharmacists Journal - May/June 2019 - 182
Canadian Pharmacists Journal - May/June 2019 - 183
Canadian Pharmacists Journal - May/June 2019 - 184
Canadian Pharmacists Journal - May/June 2019 - 185
Canadian Pharmacists Journal - May/June 2019 - The patient experience in a community pharmacy mental illness and addictions program
Canadian Pharmacists Journal - May/June 2019 - 187
Canadian Pharmacists Journal - May/June 2019 - 188
Canadian Pharmacists Journal - May/June 2019 - 189
Canadian Pharmacists Journal - May/June 2019 - 190
Canadian Pharmacists Journal - May/June 2019 - 191
Canadian Pharmacists Journal - May/June 2019 - 192
Canadian Pharmacists Journal - May/June 2019 - Community pharmacists’ experiences with the Saskatchewan Medication Assessment Program
Canadian Pharmacists Journal - May/June 2019 - 194
Canadian Pharmacists Journal - May/June 2019 - 195
Canadian Pharmacists Journal - May/June 2019 - 196
Canadian Pharmacists Journal - May/June 2019 - 197
Canadian Pharmacists Journal - May/June 2019 - 198
Canadian Pharmacists Journal - May/June 2019 - 199
Canadian Pharmacists Journal - May/June 2019 - 200
Canadian Pharmacists Journal - May/June 2019 - 201
Canadian Pharmacists Journal - May/June 2019 - 202
Canadian Pharmacists Journal - May/June 2019 - 203
Canadian Pharmacists Journal - May/June 2019 - Cross-Canada updates
Canadian Pharmacists Journal - May/June 2019 - 205
Canadian Pharmacists Journal - May/June 2019 - 206
Canadian Pharmacists Journal - May/June 2019 - The conference experience—Making it yours
Canadian Pharmacists Journal - May/June 2019 - 208
Canadian Pharmacists Journal - May/June 2019 - 209
Canadian Pharmacists Journal - May/June 2019 - 210
Canadian Pharmacists Journal - May/June 2019 - 211
Canadian Pharmacists Journal - May/June 2019 - 212
Canadian Pharmacists Journal - May/June 2019 - Cover3
Canadian Pharmacists Journal - May/June 2019 - Cover4
Canadian Pharmacists Journal - May/June 2019 - CPH1
Canadian Pharmacists Journal - May/June 2019 - CPH2
Canadian Pharmacists Journal - May/June 2019 - CPH3
Canadian Pharmacists Journal - May/June 2019 - CPH4
Canadian Pharmacists Journal - May/June 2019 - CPH5
Canadian Pharmacists Journal - May/June 2019 - CPH6
Canadian Pharmacists Journal - May/June 2019 - CPH7
Canadian Pharmacists Journal - May/June 2019 - CPH8
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