OCP kicks off town hall series on corporate pressure concerns

The Ontario College of Pharmacists (OCP) held the first in a series of town halls on Wednesday afternoon to discuss corporate pressures in pharmacy—where it reiterated its “zero-tolerance” policy against business practices that impede care and encouraged members to report such practices through its hotline.Last month, a report from the college that gathered survey responses from 1,300 members found widespread business pressures facing pharmacists at corporate-owned pharmacies. These include pharmacists reporting being pressured to meet quotas around MedsChecks or other professional services, as well as being pressured to complete minor ailment assessments too quickly.“What the board said is that OCP has no tolerance for business practices that compromise the ability of pharmacists and pharmacy techs to deliver safe and effective care to their patients,” OCP CEO Shenda Tanchak said during the town hall.In March, the college released its zero-tolerance statement against “business practices that compromise the ability of pharmacists and pharmacy technicians to deliver safe and effective care to their patients.”Susan James, director of quality at the college, said since the zero-tolerance statement was issued, the college has been creating a new framework specifically designed to address and answer pressure-related complaints.“The zero-tolerance statement . . . really was to give us permission to act. It was a direction from the board for the staff to be able to do some things. And the first thing we did with that was to establish a framework to understand as all of the concerns or complaints that come into the college, they will have a new lens applied to them,” she said during the town hall. “How do we reassess it? How do we establish an investigation plan? Who needs to be involved? All of that will look different based on this framework, and I will let you know that the framework is going to be published,” James added.The college is also exploring possible legal options but remains mum on the details.“I think it's important for you to know that this is an area we're not going to be able to report a lot on it obviously is going to happen behind the scenes. There will be confidential pieces. It's going to take time and so we will report where and when we can,” said James.The OCP also launched a hotline last month, encouraging members to report instances of corporate pressures at 416-962-4861 x 3700 or via email at pressureshotline@ocpinfo.com. Complaints can be made anonymously, but the college says that can impede its ability to investigate.“We can't go into the particular worksite and start an investigation without revealing your identity in almost every case, unless we have lots and lots of the same sorts of calls. But we can help you come up with some ways to manage the situation,” said Tanchak.The college is holding its second town hall on Wednesday evening at 7 p.m. ET. A third town hall will take place on Thursday at 7:30 a.m.

OCP kicks off town hall series on corporate pressure concerns

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