Media
Keynote Presentation: Technology and the Pharmacist
Kelly Grindrod of the University of Waterloo School of Pharmacy spoke at the 23rd Annual Commitment to Care and Service Awards in Toronto. Kelly spoke about how technology is revolutionizing the pharmacist-patient relationship. This speech was made possible by the generous support of Shoppers Drug Mart.
Patients can help avoid looming ‘antibiotic apocalypse’
Toronto Star, January 2, 2015Online
If the chief medical officer of England is to be believed, an “antibiotic apocalypse” is imminent. Dame Sally Davies made headlines when she warned British MPs about antibiotic resistance. She envisions the following medical scenario: “When I need a new hip in 20 years I’ll die from a routine infection because we’ve run out of antibiotics.” And she’s not alone: the World Health Organization also flagged this critical problem — two years ago. But spend any time in a pharmacy during cold and flu season and you would never guess the imminent danger posed by the vast quantities of antibiotics that fly off drugstore shelves.
Access to birth control isn't just about doctors
Ottawa Citizen, July 25, 2014Online
URL: http://ottawacitizen.com/health/women/access-to-birth-control-isnt-just-about-doctors
Earlier this summer, a debate was sparked by the experience of Kate Desjardins, an Ottawa woman who went to a walk-in clinic to renew her birth control prescription. She was handed a letter informing her that three of the clinic physicians were not prescribing birth control because of their “religious values.” At the time, most media outlets noted that this meant she was forced to find another physician. But she had a choice that almost no one is talking about. Her pharmacist could have also written the renewal prescription for her.
Paying pharmacists for patient care A systematic review of remunerated pharmacy clinical care services
Published by Canadian Pharmacists Journal / Revue des Pharmaciens du Canada
2014 Expansion of scope of practice and diminishing revenues from dispensing are requiring pharmacists to increasingly adopt clinical care services into their practices. Pharmacists must be able to receive payment in order for provision of clinical care to be sustainable. The objective of this study is to update a previous systematic review by identifying remunerated pharmacist clinical care programs worldwide and reporting on uptake and patient care outcomes observed as a result.
Effect of a Mobile Phone Intervention on Quitting Smoking in a Young Adult Population of Smokers: Randomized Controlled Trial Study Protocol
Published by JMIR Research Protocol
2015 Tobacco use remains the number one cause of preventable chronic disease and death in developed countries worldwide. In North America, smoking rates are highest among young adults. Despite that the majority of young adult smokers indicate wanting to quit, smoking rates among this age demographic have yet to decline. Helping young adults quit smoking continues to be a public health priority. Digital mobile technology presents a promising medium for reaching this population with smoking cessation interventions, especially because young adults are the heaviest users of this technology.
Evaluating User Perceptions of Mobile Medication Management Applications With Older Adults: A Usability Study
Published by JMIR mHealth uHealth
2014 Medication nonadherence has a significant impact on the health and wellbeing of individuals with chronic disease. Several mobile medication management applications are available to help users track, remember, and read about their medication therapy.
Cost-Utility Analysis of a Multidisciplinary Strategy to Manage Osteoarthritis of the Knee: Economic Evaluation of a Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial Study
Published by Arthritis Care & Research
2014 To determine if a pharmacist-initiated multidisciplinary strategy provides value for money compared to usual care in participants with previously undiagnosed knee osteoarthritis.
URL: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/acr.22232/full
ClereMed: Lessons Learned From a Pilot Study of a Mobile Screening Tool to Identify and Support Adults Who Have Difficulty With Medication Labels
Published by JMIR mHealth uHealth
2014 In order to take medications safely and effectively, individuals need to be able to see, read, and understand the medication labels. However, one-half of medication labels are currently misunderstood, often because of low literacy, low vision, and cognitive impairment. We sought to design a mobile tool termed ClereMed that could rapidly screen for adults who have difficulty reading or understanding their medication labels.
Biography
Kelly Grindrod is an assistant professor at the University of Waterloo’s School of Pharmacy. She is also a licensed and practicing pharmacist in primary care. Her research includes novel ways to bring research findings to today’s busy medical clinics and pharmacy counters, namely through innovations in mobile technologies such as mobile apps, wearables and electronic health records. After completing her pharmacy degree at the University of Alberta and a hospital residency at the London Health Sciences Centre, she moved to the University of British Columbia to do a PharmD, Master of Science degree and a post-doctoral fellowship. Her areas of expertise include medication use, digital health technology and pharmacy education.