As of September 2021, the Pharmacists Clinic at the University of British Columbia (UBC) Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences has exceeded 20,000 patient care visits. This milestone demonstrates the dedication of expert pharmacists and administrative professionals at the Clinic who care for British Columbians with complex health and drug therapy needs. This milestone is even more significant given that all patient care at the clinic has been provided virtually since March 2020.
In the early weeks of the COVID-19 pandemic, when other health care practices were closed, the Clinic team increased its commitment to patients across the province by shifting all efforts from multiple modes of care to 100% virtual care overnight. Requests for appointments have been on the rise ever since. With so much focus on COVID-19, vaccination and hospitalizations, the Clinic team has been caring for British Columbians living with chronic health conditions so they can stay living independently at home and not in emergency rooms or hospital beds.
“The pandemic has heightened people’s awareness of the need to take care of health conditions such as high blood pressure, diabetes, migraine and arthritis in a proactive way”, says Clinic director, Barbara Gobis.
The Clinic, which opened in November of 2013, is Canada's first university-affiliated, licensed, pharmacist-led patient care clinic. Expert pharmacists provide patients with the highest possible standard of health consultation services. Although licensed as a community pharmacy, the clinic operates like a speciality clinic and patients receive care by referral from a health care provider or self-referral. Clinic pharmacists provide in-depth consultation services and advice for patients who need extra time. The Clinic is funded by UBC and patients receive care at no additional cost to them. The Clinic does not sell drug products of provide prescription-filling services and the services offered by the Clinic are a supplement to—and not a replacement for—the care people receive from pharmacists at their usual community pharmacy.
Click here to learn more about the UBC Pharmacists Clinic.