Pharmacists in PEI will have access to patient lab results starting on Tuesday, November 15th, to support monitoring and management of drug therapy.
Interpretation of patient lab results relates to Domain 1: Providing Care in the NAPRA Model Standards of Practice for Pharmacists and Pharmacy Technicians in Canada. In section 1.1, the minimum expectation is that “pharmacy professionals continuously assess the patient’s unique needs, goals, and preferences related to health and well-being.” An example of a pharmacist meeting the standard is given in Section 1.1.6b which states that pharmacists "order and/or interpret relevant laboratory, point-of-care, and diagnostic tests and other clinical assessments when required to optimize management of medication therapy.”
Pharmacists are expected to use available information, in supporting their professional judgment, to make evidence-informed decisions that are based on the patient’s unique needs, goals, and preferences. Collaboration with the patient, the patient’s primary healthcare provider and other healthcare professionals is necessary to optimize management of medication therapy.
An amendment to the Pharmacist and Pharmacy Technician Regulations on November 12th, 2022, provides further clarity surrounding pharmacist interpretation of lab tests for monitoring and managing drug therapy. Section 23 of the regulations provides direction on interpretation of tests, the pharmacist’s duties and record keeping requirements. Patient lab results received from the Health PEI Health Records Department would form part of the pharmacy patient record. As such, the results must be maintained for a period of ten years in an easily retrievable format.
