July 2016 issue

Ontario’s MedsCheck medication review programs provide a valuable health service but after nine years it’s clear that pharmacists need to improve their documentation and sharing of service records to make the information easily accessible to patients and their physicians.

March 2016 issue

As we approach the culmination of medication management research funded by OPEN’s foundational grant from the Government of Ontario, we wish to thank our research teams and celebrate their many successes. These achievements form the basis of OPEN's continued development as a focal point for medication management research in Ontario

January 2016 issue

Our second Summit will showcase a synthesis of OPEN's research findings while bringing together researchers, knowledge users and decision-makers alike to discuss implications of our research on healthcare and pharmacy policy and practice.

October 2015 issue

OPEN as a natural laboratory to understand the uptake, diffusion and application of knowledge. Many health services research programs in Canada have advisory boards comprised of individuals who have a professional interest in the program’s research findings.

June 2015 issue

Bringing patient treatment into the sphere of community pharmacist care. Many think of pharmacists as the healthcare providers who dispense prescriptions and offer patients professional advice on their best use. But in recent years the pharmacist’s role has expanded so they can be more involved in patient care.

March 2015 issue

In recent years, the Ontario government passed regulations that have allowed pharmacists to provide a broader range of patient services. Among these expansions to pharmacist scope of practice was the authority to prescribe smoking-cessation medications and to provide remunerated counselling services to provincial drug plan beneficiaries though the Pharmacy Smoking Cessation Program.

November 2014 issue

On October 7 and 8, 2014, OPEN’s researchers, staff and students, along with healthcare professionals and knowledge users across various pharmacy sectors, gathered in Toronto to learn, share and collaborate at OPEN’s first Summit.

August 2014 issue

OPEN researchers have responded to eight applied health research questions. Posed by our knowledge users, these questions lead to short-term research projects that provide key data, critical analyses and literature syntheses for a strong empirical foundation for decision-making across a range of pharmacist services and practice settings.

February 2014 issue

The facts are sobering — the Public Health Agency of Canada estimates that 17% of Canadian adults live with some form of chronic pain. Such pain can lower a person’s quality of life and its effects often extend to families, society and the workplace. Chronic pain is estimated to cost Canadians $15 billion annually, of which $10 billion is borne by our healthcare system.

November 2013 issue

The Ontario Pharmacy Research Collaboration was launched on May 31 at a media event officiated by University of Waterloo senior administrators and the Honourable John Milloy, member of provincial parliament for Kitchener Centre.