Research and education embedded in Discovery Pharmacy patient care

Pharmacists and pharmacy students help U of T community navigate campus health care services

During the Discovery Pharmacy’s first year in operation, pharmacy staff and students worked to help meet its goal of being a place where research and education lead to innovations that provide better care within an interdisciplinary and increasingly integrated health care system. They have also succeeded in providing positive health care experiences for their patients and have helped many members of the U of T community navigate campus health care services.

“Accessing healthcare can be confusing for anyone, but there are definitely additional barriers for patients from outside of Canada, even for something as simple as getting a COVID-19 vaccination,” says Jonathan Nhan, lead pharmacist at the Discovery Pharmacy. “I’m proud that the Discovery Pharmacy team is engaged in putting services together to help U of T’s international student community and excited to provide services that can enhance the quality of life for the whole U of T community.”

As part of the on campus health care ecosystem, the Discovery Pharmacy is a fully accredited pharmacy, with a medication dispensary and pharmacy-based services including medication consultations, opioid overdose prevention training, and other services.

In the first two months alone, more than 1,900 patients were enrolled at the pharmacy.

Education and research are are embedded in daily functions and work in unison at Discovery Pharmacy.

Students are learning alongside practising pharmacists in an active clinical setting based right in the Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy building. Pharmacists educate patients and train other health care professionals about opioid overdose prevention and other interventions. Pharmacists and students undertake research projects to evaluate and improve their services and the broader profession, including evaluating a student-led vaccination clinic and a student-led naloxone training program.

Launched only a few months before the Omicron wave hit Toronto, vaccinations were a significant focus of operations. In December 2021, U of T President Meric Gertler visited the Discovery Pharmacy to receive a COVID-19 booster dose and to learn more about the work of students, faculty and staff providing vaccines to the U of T community.

“It was really uplifting to have President Gertler at Discovery Pharmacy,” says Dean Lisa Dolovich who administered the vaccination. “We had been working to immunize as many people as possible and it was very meaningful to be able to provide this service to President Gertler and so many others across U of T.”

“Looking at innovative pharmacy service really starts with the patient and considering the impact a new approach could have in their life.”

The Discovery Pharmacy team has also collaborated with U of T’s Health and Wellness service and the Centre for International Experience to help meet the needs of the U of T community. “Looking at innovative pharmacy service really starts with the patient and considering the impact a new approach could have in their life,” adds Nhan. “These opportunities provide learners with the opportunity to understand the many components of patient care and apply the theory into practice. The environment also fosters collaboration and innovative ideas from our students so we can move the profession forward in a way that puts patient care at the centre of everything that we do.”

In the last year, 15 pharmacy students worked part-time in the Discovery Pharmacy, while another 11 completed advanced pharmacy practice experience (APPE) rotations at the pharmacy in non-direct patient care, including participating in the pharmacy development process and research.

“Staying up to date on innovative technologies helps us build a more efficient pharmacy system and promotes better patient care.”

“My research project helped narrow down the technology options that bring the most benefit to the Discovery Pharmacy and its patients,” said Christy Mak who completed her PharmD in 2021. “Staying up to date on innovative technologies helps us build a more efficient pharmacy system and promotes better patient care.”

One of the key goals for the upcoming year is to expand the pharmacy’s operations, moving into their permanent space on the first floor of the Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy building and opening locations in other areas at U of T. They also hope to enhance virtual pharmacy care to improve person-centred care in a digital environment.

Ernie Avilla, executive director of the Discovery Pharmacy underscores that one of the Discovery Pharmacy’s goals is to help improve the benefit pharmacy can bring as part of our interdisciplinary health system by advancing research into pharmacy-based innovations. “Everything we test and learn at the Discovery Pharmacy is through the lens of wanting to be able to share these learnings with our community,” he says. “We want to make sure that what we develop at the Discovery Pharmacy doesn’t live in an incubator but is actually able to expand to real community settings.”

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