Abstract
To many, it might seem that Canadians talk about only 2 subjects — the weather and the state of our health care system. Moreover, most of what we say isn't complimentary about either topic. The degree of patient dissatisfaction may vary from province to province, but the overriding opinion (held by 78% of Canadians) is that our health care system needs an overhaul. 1 We hear that other countries are doing a much better job of managing their publicly funded systems and that Canada (currently ranked 11th out of 23 Organisations for Economic Co-operation and Development countries) has a long way to go in improving its programs. 2 With the recent federal government focus on wait-time guarantees and better coordination of care for specific conditions like cancer, the pressure on health care professionals to provide more for less seems relentless.
In addition to that general dissatisfaction with our health care system, Canadian pharmacists have the added frustration of witnessing inappropriate prescribing, outrageous waste, and bureaucratic hurdles that often make it difficult to address the patient management problems we encounter on a daily basis. We may have the feeling that there's very little we can do about these issues and regularly have the sense that other health professionals lack any appreciation of our unique skill set and what we could contribute to the improvement of the system.
Against this rather pessimistic backdrop, 2 federally funded programs geared to promoting an interdisciplinary approach to health care stand out. Both the Enhancing Interdisciplinary Collaboration in Primary Health Care and the Canadian Collaborative Mental Health Initiative projects focused on collaboration between professionals as a means of improving patient outcomes and the effective utilization of our scarce health professional resources.
These initiatives couldn't have come at a better time. Canada has a long way to go to approach the participation in multidisciplinary teams common in countries like Germany, the Netherlands, and the UK. 3 And with the chances of a Canadian individual having a mental illness in their lifetime estimated to be 1 in 5 and over 10% of Canadians having a mental illness at any given time, 4 the need for a collaborative approach to the management of mental health is significant.
So what does this mean for the average community pharmacy practitioner? Well, for a start, it means that in many instances, other health professionals will be receptive to your recommendations and may even seek your opinion on specific drug therapies or adherence issues. As Dr. David Gardner explains, “Pharmacists are busy mental health service providers, although they often do not recognize themselves as such. However, the sheer number of psychotropic medications dispensed per year in Canada, second only to cardiovascular drugs, suggests otherwise.” Working with other health professionals for the benefit of your mutual patients or clients only makes sense.
The opportunities to collaborate are right in front of you. We hope that the content of this CPJ supplement will make this process as painless as possible.