Pilot projects offer GMF pharmacists a chance to showcase their added front-line value

Five pilot projects aimed at evaluating both the impact and added value of pharmacists practicing within family medicine groups—known as GMFs in Quebec—have been launched by the province’s health minister. “It's a great opportunity,” said Anne Maheu, a pharmacist with the GMF-U de Bordeaux-Cartierville in Montreal and coordinator of the research project, which is an initiative of the Quebec Network of Pharmacists in Family Medicine Groups (RQP GMF). The RQP GMF regroups roughly 350 pharmacists who work in family medicine groups. “We’ll be able to demonstrate the role of pharmacists in GMFs in a tangible way,” said Maheu. Read: Examining the uncertainties about value of including Omicron antigen in fall COVID-19 boosters She is hoping the pilot projects will demonstrate both the need and relevance of increasing the number of hours allocated to pharmacists in GMFs to Quebec’s Ministry of Health and Social Services (MSSS) and the Treasury Board. Presently, 85% of the 370 GMFs across Quebec employ pharmacists who work, on average, between 13 and 16 hours a week. Maheu says the ultimate goal of the research project is to substantially increase those hours by providing a better understanding of "how the collaboration between the pharmacist and other health professionals is organized, what roles they can play, what missions they can accomplish with extended hours, and what are the benefits for patients.” She described the five pilot projects as “a small-scale structured implementation.” Since the five GMFs involved in the project present unique environments and challenges, pharmacists who practice at each have designed specific projects for their location. At the GMF Cyriac in Jonquière, for example, the pharmacist there has developed a link with second-line services to support family doctors in their consultation requests for patients with complex diabetes. Likewise, at the GMF des Abénakis in Saint-George in the Beauce region, the pharmacist on duty there works with migraine patients in collaboration with neurologists, and is involved in the care of obese people. In the Lanaudière region, the four pharmacists who work at four GMF Saint-Donat sites will see their hours increased from 13 to 24 hours a week. "The idea is to see how they will coordinate their activities remotely to improve patient follow-up in conjunction with community pharmacists," said Maheu, adding that the diversity of context among the five GMFs chosen for the pilot projects "will give a good representation of our contribution to the front line." Amélie Boudreau, a pharmacist at the GMF Lafontaine in Rivière-du-Loup, said she jumped at the chance to participate in the pilots when she learned they were being launched by the MSSS. "I'm super excited because I have lots of projects to develop to help doctors on the first or second line," said Boudreau, adding that she feels lucky to have been selected for the project. “We work as a team here. Family doctors are willing to delegate and everyone is on board with my projects.” Boudreau is notably involved in the care of patients with chronic pain. She also instigated a partnership agreement with another GMF in her city for the care of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). “Once the diagnosis is made we take care of patients autonomously in conjunction with respiratory therapists." Since starting in April, the agreement has been expanded to include all conditions except those treated using narcotics or benzodiazepines. “We’ll be able to go further in the management of multi-drug complex patients,” said Boudreau. The proactive pharmacist has also developed a specific path in regards to the deployment of the front-line access counter (known as GAP in Quebec). “My partnership agreement includes orphan patients, so I’ll be able to follow them,” said Boudreau. “Community pharmacists can adjust medication—but not add more—whereas I have that latitude. As part of this path, community pharmacists will be able to refer their patients directly to me using a simplified procedure.” Read: New guidance released on helping patients manage the specialty baby formula shortage As for the fifth GMF involved with the pilot projects—the Clinique médicale du Sud-Ouest, a GMF-R in the Montreal neighbourhood of Verdun—pharmacists there are exploring the dynamics of four clinicians to help elaborate an adequate collaborative structure. They will also provide support for services to home care patients and strengthen ties with community pharmacies in their area. "These five pilot projects will provide us with a look at the wide range of front-line things pharmacists can do to improve patient care," said Maheu, who is already eager to get feedback on the projects in April 2023. This story was translated from its original French.

Pilot projects offer GMF pharmacists a chance to showcase their added front-line value

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