Pharmacy Connection
Recently the Board met to develop and approve the College’s 2024-2028 strategic plan, which will guide our operational and policy decisions in the coming years.
You might ask how we came up with the various elements of the strategic plan. It’s a process that started months ago. We engaged experts to help us understand the future of pharmacy and the outlook for regulation. We listened to frontline and professional staff at OCP, those who regularly talk to you, to understand what’s happening in the field. We invited all College staff to help identify our collective organizational values. We surveyed key system partners to identify priorities. And, of course, we reflected on all that we know from the day-to-day work of regulation.
The result? A strategic plan unlike anything we’ve done before at OCP, focused around three components. Strategic plans can feel lofty, wordy, and overly ambitious. But with this one, we are aiming for a practical roadmap for the years ahead.
First, we chose values to guide how we operate. Values are not meant to be inspirational posters on the wall – it is important that they connect with what we do. Second, building from our values, we created relevant and clear regulatory principles that will guide how we do our work. And finally, the Board identified four areas of focus for our next five years: OCP’s strategic goals.
What does this mean for you as a registrant? Let’s take our first goal as an example: in all practice settings, pharmacy management practices and business metrics will not impede pharmacy professionals’ ability to meet the Standards of Practice and abide by the Code of Ethics or compromise their health and well-being. Identifying this goal was an outcome of all the research and consultation mentioned above: we heard from you about the challenges you face when there are business interests that seem to compete with patient needs, and staffing arrangements and shortages that leave you with insufficient time. We understand that these situations compromise patient care and your health.
The work we do to achieve this goal will be guided by our values and regulatory principles. We pledge to be accountable, fair, collaborative and judicious and to act always with integrity and transparency. We will keep patient interests squarely at the forefront of all our activities and work closely with partners across the system to identify evidence-supported means by which to support development and maintenance of a manageable work environment.
There are three other goals, of course. These focus on college communications, expertise and resources, and driving positive change to ensure all patients are treated with respect and without discrimination. Watch for updates about how the College will bring this plan to life in the coming months.
As always, we are interested in your ideas so please send me an email at registrar@ocpinfo.com.
