Out of the fire and into your pharmacy: What you need to know about caring for wildfire evacuees

Canada is ablaze, with an estimated total of 635 wildfires largely in the west and north. For pharmacists, this could mean an influx of wildfire evacuees seeking medications and clinical services. Whether you’re a pharmacist in British Columbia, Saskatchewan or Ontario, here are some things to keep in mind when caring for patients who have fled from a wildfire. It’s pharmacy practice as usual Steven Yakiwchuk, a Saskatoon-based field officer with the Saskatchewan College of Pharmacy Professionals, said pharmacists treating wildfire evacuees should proceed as they would with any other new patient. “Pharmacists should be meeting standards of practice and treating them the same as regular patients,” he told Pharmacy Practice + Business. “And as they would do with other patients, they should take the time to gather information on the patient’s health and medication history.” No EHR? Draw on other resources On its website, the Saskatchewan College of Pharmacy Professionals pointed out that patients from the Northwest Territories will not have an electronic health record. Consequently, pharmacists will need to rely on other available information, such as prescription bottles and prescription receipts and “use their professional judgment to determine if they have sufficient information to safely prescribe.” Safety always: Validating patient identification Patients who fled quickly from wildfires may have little or no identification with them when they come into your pharmacy. Yakiwchuk said pharmacists should follow their provincial regulator’s policies on verifying the identity of patients without the usual acceptable government documents. In Saskatchewan, for example, pharmacists are advised to try verifying identification through other means such as asking open-ended questions to confirm a patient’s address, phone number and other information unique to the patient. For out-of-province patients, pharmacists should also check if a Pharmaceutical Information Program record for the purpose of dispensing a medication. “Pharmacists in these situations need to use their professional judgement,” said Yakiwchuk. Coordinate with local emergency programs Check what emergency resources are available in your community that could help you take care of displaced patients. Depending on where you practice, these resources could be provided by ad hoc groups or government-run programs. Either way, you’ll likely find them listed on a college or provincial government website. Remember your obligations as a healthcare professional A 2005 report from the University of Toronto Joint Centre for Bioethics—which looked at ethical considerations in planning for an influenza pandemic—explicitly stated the “ethical obligation” of health professionals to care for the sick. In choosing the healthcare profession, pharmacists and other workers in this field assume the risks associated with their line of work and have forged a social contract that obligates them to be available in times of emergency.

Out of the fire and into your pharmacy: What you need to know about caring for wildfire evacuees

Register for free access or login.

Related Topics