Long Term Care

Medical Arts Pharmacy Specializes in Long Term Care. Our pharmacists and pharmacist-consultants are licensed with the Ontario College of Pharmacists and are members of various professional pharmacy and long-term care associations including the SD&G Pharmacists' Association, Canadian Pharmacists Association, Ontario Pharmacists Association, Ottawa Carleton Pharmacists' Association and the American Society of Consultant Pharmacists.

We have provided pharmacy services to local Long Term Care Facilities for more than 30 years. These include Nursing Homes, Retirement Homes, Homes for the Aged, Residential Care Facilities and Group Homes. We provide these facilities with a comprehensive package of services, equipment and procedures, as outlined below, to help streamline and simplify the process of medication administration, thus reducing the work load of their nursing staff.

Ontario Drug Benefit

We maintain a current Drug Benefit Participation Agreement with the Ministry of Health.

Orientation and Staff Training

We provide orientation to new staff or will retrain existing staff to understand the operation of the pharmacy system and its procedures.

Multidose Packaging System

We dispense medication in multidose strip packages, using the FastPak System. We also offer multidose blister packages to both Long Term Care Facilities and residential facilities.

Medication Carts

A "medication room on wheels," The Medi-Cart is sturdy & easy to move. It includes a locking system for drawers, a safety braking system, rubber bumpers & a pullout shelf. A tablet crusher is also available upon request.

Facsimile Machines

This helps reduce errors in transmitting information between physician, nursing staff & the Pharmacy. The fax machine remains the property of the pharmacy, and we would be responsible for any repairs required.

Procedure Manuals

A copy of the Pharmacy Services Procedure Manual may be provided to each Nursing Station.

Mar Sheets

We provide Medication Administration Record sheets (MAR Sheets) which are computerized. Nurses use these sheets to chart each administered dose of medication. The back of the sheet is designed to record "PRN" administrations, avoiding the need for separate documentation for progress notes.

Quarterly Medication Review

Every 3 months, a computerized print out of each resident's medications and non-drug orders is sent to the physician for review. Based on this, the physician will decide which drugs are to be continued or discontinued.

Physician Order Forms

These carbonized forms allow the pharmacy to receive a written copy of each new physician's order, thus fulfilling pharmacy's requirement for a physician's order for prescriptions.

Packaging Re-orders

Computer generated labels are affixed to specially designed medication order sheets, thus simplifying the re-ordering system.

Leave of Absence (L.O.A.)

Leave of absence or holiday medications can be ordered 48 hours before the resident is scheduled to leave. The quantity can be packaged in vials or strips.

Medication Profiles

These are an integral component of our computerized Drug Information System. On each profile, we list all allergies and drug sensitivities, and monitor for possible adverse drug reactions and therapeutic duplications. The profile is automatically checked for potential drug allergies and interactions each time a new prescription is filled.

Multidisciplinary Review (Care Conference)

We will perform a medication review for each resident as requested by the staff at their care facility. Our pharmacists are trained in pharmacokinetics and to interpret laboratory data. The medication review will contain the following:

• The resident's name
• Area Room number
• Name of attending physician
• Resident's allergies
• Resident's diet
• Resident's diagnoses
• Name of Medications
• D.I.N.'s
• Quantities
• Directions for use, including times
• Prescription numbers
• Refill record

This information is also available on our computer.

Drug Interaction Alert

Forwarded to the physician when we notice a potentially serious drug interaction at the time of filling a new prescription.

Pharmacy Consultant Services

A complete pharmacy consulting service is provided by a qualified Pharmacist-Consultant whose responsibilities include:

• Committee Meetings
• Risk Management / Quality Assurance Audits
• Transcription Audits
• Drug Utilization Review / Drug Utilization Evaluation Audits
• Specific Audits
• Drug Education In-Service
• Educational Material & Support
• CPS - one new CPS each year
• Monitoring "Drug Therapy"
• Multi-Disciplinary Reviews

Drug Destruction

This service is available on a regular basis.

Emergency Services

An Emergency Drug Box is available and will be replenished. Our pharmacists are on call after hours, on weekends, and on statutory holidays.

Drug Utilization Statistics

These may include both prescription and non-prescription drugs, regularly used P.R.N.'s, and treatments. These statistics provide current information on the actual number of medications being administered per resident, per day, per pass.

Patient Billing

Invoices and statements are provided monthly, and billing can be directed to the patient, to your Facility, or to a designated responsible party. The monthly invoices include date, prescription number, drug name and strength, manufacturer, quantity and cost.

Computer Support

We are currently running a version of the Kroll Pharmacy System, which was customized for Long Term Care Facilities. With this system, we can generate reports specific to drug usage in your Facility.

Disaster Plan

In the event of an evacuation of your Facility and the destruction or inaccessibility of medications and MAR sheets, we will facilitate the re-issue of all your MAR sheets and the prompt filling of all necessary medications.

Accreditation

We have considerable experience in the accreditation process within Long Term Care Facilities and meet ALL standards required by the Canadian Council on Health Facilities Accreditation (C.C.H.F.A.).