Pharmacy Connection
Data collected is part of broader Quality Indicators initiative
Pharmacy professionals in Ontario will now have the opportunity to share anonymous feedback as an important first step towards using an evidence-based approach to improving the overall provider experience.
Included in the 2022 annual renewal is a link to a survey containing four provider experience indicators (see list below) that will help the College better understand the connection between provider experience and the quality of care provided. There is a well-established link between provider experience and quality of care provided to patients, demonstrating the impact that provider experience can have on the performance of the health system. For instance, many studies focused on burnout among care providers in healthcare settings have shown the negative impacts of caregiver burnout on patient care and outcomes.
- My workplace performance goals or targets enable me to provide high quality care to my patients.
- My work environment (e.g. staffing) enables me to provide high quality care to my patients.
- I have an effective working relationship with health care providers (e.g. prescribers) with whom I collaborate regarding patient care.
- Overall, based on your definition of burnout, how would you rate your level of burnout?
How the survey works
The survey link will take registrants outside of the annual renewal to an external survey platform, where they can provide their responses. All responses to the survey will be anonymous and cannot be traced to any individual respondent. The provider experience indicators will not be used to track the performance of individual pharmacy professionals or to provide information about any one specific pharmacy or pharmacy professional—rather they will be publicly reported at an aggregate level (for example by LHIN or pharmacy type) to help identify demographic and regional variations in responses.
Pharmacy professionals are strongly encouraged to participate in this survey to share their honest feedback.
Pharmacy Professionals Contribute to Selection of Provider Experience Indicators
The provider experience indicator selection process was led by a working group, comprising frontline pharmacy professionals, patients, and data experts. This working group was recruited to ensure indicators selected were important and meaningful and could accurately reflect the experience of pharmacy professionals. The working group was provided with an environmental scan and an extensive list of approximately 400 currently used global indicators aimed at measuring provider experience in various settings. A consultation with the public and the sector was conducted to provide critical feedback to the working group as they shortlisted the indicators found in the global literature. Over 200 pharmacy professionals provided feedback prior to indicator finalization.
Quality Indicators for Pharmacy
Focusing on measuring the provider experience is part of the College’s Quality Indicators for Pharmacy initiative, work that aims to provide the public sector and health system with information about the overall quality of pharmacy care in a variety of measurement areas, and to drive quality improvement in the community pharmacy setting.
In addition to the provider experience, the College’s Quality Indicator initiative includes data already published related to the appropriateness of dispensed medications, medication-related hospital visits and transitions of care, and work is underway to discuss data collection options with various stakeholder groups for the Patient/Caregiver Reported Experience indicators.
To learn more about the complete set of Quality Indicators for Community Pharmacy, visit the College website.
