Pharmacists embrace point-of-care testing

As pharmacists, our role is ever-expanding to fit the needs of our patients and communities. Our role initially began as dispensers of medication; in Ontario it evolved to a more therapeutic role with the implementation of MedsChecks, but something was lacking.Enter point of care testing (POCT), an innovative technology that provides simple, fast and lab-accurate results which allow us to make data-driven clinical decisions. The outcomes of implementing POCT have been positive in helping to identify gaps in care, adding new therapies and deprescribing others. Most importantly, without POCT, most of these concerns would have fallen through the cracks, with many patients not having easy access to testing in the healthcare system, especially during the pandemic. The combination of the therapeutic knowledge of pharmacists, combined with their ease of access and providing POCT services can help alter the progression of chronic diseases in the Canadian population. The multifaceted impact that POCT has had is undoubtable. But there are challenges with the implementation of new services within our remarkably busy daily workload. While implementing POCT can appear to be a vast undertaking, it can be simplified into small habits that can help us accept and work with this technology.Before attempting to implement POCT into our workload it is important to adapt an enabler mindset and view the promise and potential of this technology, not just the burden of the workload. From there, we start working with the technology and troubleshoot challenges as they come up, while also being proactive and brainstorming potential new challenges, and try to alleviate them. Finally, we personalize the implementation to accommodate the specific environment we work in and community that we serve. This involves taking the time to understand which aspect of POCT is working well, what could be better, and how the information we are collecting combines with information from other health care providers to benefit the patient. This process can be simplified into three steps: Lead, Embrace and Adopt. We begin by leading – setting the example, training our team, and providing trainers to help with troubleshooting. We embrace by implementing the technology and working with it. Finally, we adopt, by adapting the way we implement the service to fit our team and best serve our community. As pharmacists we have proven repeatedly, especially during the pandemic, that we do not walk away from a challenge, especially when it has the potential to vastly improve patient care. The accessibility of pharmacists, combined with our therapeutic knowledge means we are ideally placed to provide and expand the healthcare services we provide to our patients. POCT provides us with a tool to make customized decisions based on clinical data, which allows us to provide a higher calibre of care to our patients.

Pharmacists embrace point-of-care testing

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