Pharmacy Check-in: Rob Pammett
Rob Pammett, BSP, MSc (he/him)
Research and Development Pharmacist, Primary Care
Northern Health/University of British Columbia
Prince George, BC
Rob Pammett graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy from the University of Saskatchewan (2010), and a Master of Science in Pharmacy (2015). Rob is the Research and Development Pharmacist – Primary Care, a partnership between Northern Health and the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of British Columbia, where he holds the rank of Associate Professor (Partner). He helps to optimize medications as a team-based primary care pharmacist and provides chronic disease management alongside other health-care providers in Prince George, BC. He also supports the other pharmacists in Primary Care Networks across northern British Columbia. Rob has teamed up with researchers in BC to study the role of pharmacists in prescribing contraceptives.
Q&A with Rob
We caught up with Rob to talk about the important role pharmacists can play in providing sexual and reproductive health care to their patients.
What is the #1 thing pharmacists can do to support their patients in the area of reproductive health and wellness?
Ensuring that sexual and reproductive health care is accessible to all people is one of the most important roles pharmacists can play in this area. Pharmacists are perfectly positioned to work with people to select the best contraceptive for them. Now that many prescribed contraceptives are fully covered in BC, and pharmacists can independently prescribe these medications and devices, it is easier than ever before for people to receive sexual and reproductive health care from a pharmacist. Pharmacists are also well equipped to provide these services in respectful and culturally safe ways by building and maintaining therapeutic relationships.
What role can pharmacists play in ensuring access to medication-based abortion? Why is it important for pharmacists to be involved?
By ensuring that they maintain stock of these products, as well as the knowledge to appropriately educate on and monitor the response to these treatments, pharmacists can support equitable and timely access to medication-based abortion, especially in rural and remote areas where there may be reduced access.
What role can pharmacists play in ensuring access to contraception? Why is it important for pharmacists to be involved?
Contraception is one area of many that benefits from a pharmacist’s expertise. By ensuring access to and optimizing contraception pharmacists are able to facilitate access and improve the cost-effectiveness of therapy. For example, they can tailor dosage forms to improve adherence or modify therapy to address adverse drug reactions or drug shortages without compromising on effectiveness.
How can pharmacists empower their patients in this area?
By building relationships and providing longitudinal care for their clients, pharmacists make people feel comfortable enough to ask questions about their medications, which can help them resolve issues before they become barriers to health care. Having proactive conversations about healthcare needs with people can ensure that we’re offering them appropriate services when they need them.
Do current legislation and regulations in Canada give pharmacists enough authority to effectively and appropriately provide comprehensive reproductive health services to their patients?
One thing that has been identified as a barrier to care is that while pharmacists in some provinces can prescribe long-acting reversible contraception (the most effective form of contraception), they cannot administer these medications/devices. In many communities, including rural and remote areas, there can be long waitlists to have these types of contraception placed. I’m involved in some research looking into the acceptability and feasibility of pharmacists inserting implantable contraceptives with appropriate training (e.g., etonogestrel 68mg implant) if this were made possible by regulatory authorities.
What is the most rewarding part of your work?
As a researcher, I love creating new knowledge and work hard to figure out how this can improve the lives of the populations studied in any way. When research influences policy and clinical care, the hours put into a project feel worth it.