Timony Patrick, Houle Sherilyn K D, Gauthier Alain, Waite Nancy M
Can Pharm J (Ott). 2022 Aug 5;155(5):267-276. doi: 10.1177/17151635221115411. eCollection 2022 Sep-Oct.
Canadians living in rural and northern communities face particular health needs and challenges in accessing primary care services. Ontario pharmacists are increasingly able to optimize patient care with a broadening scope of practice; this was highlighted during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study explores the geographic distribution of pharmacists to evaluate their potential to deliver health care in rural and northern Ontario communities.
A secondary analysis of the Ontario College of Pharmacists' registry data was undertaken, with all Part A pharmacists who had at least 1 patient care practice site included in the analysis. Full-time equivalent (FTE) hours worked at each practice site were calculated and compared with the population distribution. Ratios of FTEs per 1000 residents by census subdivision (which represents communities) were calculated and compared by geography, north vs south and urban vs rural (further subdivided by metropolitan-influenced zones).
The greatest availability of pharmacist FTEs was found in urban communities (with slightly better availability in the north), whereas the lowest availability was found in the most rural communities. A more granular observation revealed that northern communities were more likely to have no local pharmacist access (72%) compared with southern communities (24%).
Rural and northern communities are underserved. Novel approaches to overcoming the rural pharmacist care gap include rural practice incentives, targeted enrollment of rural students, increased rural exposure in pharmacy schools and the utilization of new technologies such as telepharmacy and drone medication deliveries.
生活在农村和北部社区的加拿大人在获得初级医疗服务方面面临特殊的健康需求和挑战。安大略省的药剂师凭借不断扩大的执业范围，越来越有能力优化患者护理；这在新冠疫情期间得到了凸显。本研究探讨药剂师的地理分布，以评估他们在安大略省农村和北部社区提供医疗服务的潜力。
对安大略省药剂师学院的注册数据进行二次分析，分析纳入了所有在至少一个患者护理执业地点工作的A类药剂师。计算每个执业地点的全职等效（FTE）工作时长，并与人口分布进行比较。计算并按地理区域（北部与南部、城市与农村，农村进一步细分为受大都市影响的区域）比较每个普查分区（代表社区）每1000名居民的FTE比率。
药剂师FTE的最大可用性出现在城市社区（北部略好），而可用性最低的是最农村的社区。更细致的观察显示，与南部社区（24%）相比，北部社区更有可能无法获得当地药剂师的服务（72%）。
农村和北部社区的医疗服务不足。克服农村药剂师护理差距的新方法包括农村执业激励措施、有针对性地招收农村学生、增加药学院对农村的接触以及利用远程药学和无人机送药等新技术。
