Dear colleagues,
I want to start my letter by acknowledging your ongoing commitment as pharmacists and pharmacy technicians during this continuing crisis. Your efforts to support the safety of your patients and your colleagues, while still ensuring patient care is provided as an essential service, are a testament to your fundamental dedication to your patients, your communities and your profession. As we move towards the widespread administration of the COVID-19 vaccines, that professionalism and commitment will be needed more than ever.
It is a great honour to serve as the new Chair of the OCP’s Board of Directors. As the Board, our role is to ensure the interests of the public are protected and maintained, provide oversight of the College and approve policies and regulations. The Board’s work is guided by our Strategic Framework and priorities, which were recently reaffirmed.
I would like to thank our outgoing Chair, Laura Weyland, for her leadership over the past two years, our past Chair, Regis Vaillancourt, and the entire Board for their service to OCP. Their leadership has contributed to many milestones being met at the College, including the implementation of important governance changes, a focused approach on Indigenous cultural competency, the advancement of medication safety programs, and the development of regulations related to expanded scope of practice.
Your efforts to support the safety of your patients and your colleagues, while still ensuring patient care is provided as an essential service, are a testament to your fundamental dedication to your patients, your communities and your profession.
While COVID-19 dominates our conversations, we know the day to day care of your patients is just as important as ever. This issue of Pharmacy Connection continues to touch on topics that support your practice, including care for patients receiving opioid therapy, implementation of non-sterile compounding standards, prevention of medication incidents, avoidance of confirmation bias and updates on College guidance and resources. As always, we encourage you to stay up to date with the College’s communication channels, including the website, e-Connect and social media.
This year we also recognize the College’s 150th anniversary. An anniversary presents not just a chance to look at all we have accomplished, but also to re-commit ourselves to our mandate as an organization and look for opportunities to ensure we are doing all we can to contribute to a safe pharmacy environment.
This pandemic is not over yet. But as we transition to the next phase of COVID-19 which includes vaccines, know the College is committed to continuing to work within our mandate to protect patients and support pharmacy professionals. From providing necessary guidance for pharmacy professionals to collaborating with key stakeholders to address challenges in practice, our priority is ensuring patients receive the care they need.
Thank you to all pharmacists and pharmacy technicians for your incredible efforts over the past year.
Sincerely,
Billy Cheung, R.Ph.
Board Chair