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Pharmaceutical Care Management Strategy

Last updated on January 31, 2023

The Ministry of Health’s Pharmaceutical, Laboratory & Blood Services Division (PLBSD) oversees the BC PharmaCare program. PLBSD is also responsible for overseeing the provisioning, management and optimal use of pharmaceuticals, and the pharmaceutical-related systems and services that improve patient outcomes in the B.C. health system.

Jump to: Complexity | Key capability areas | Strategic areas of focus

The Pharmaceutical Care Management Strategy (PCMS) was developed through consultation and collaboration with a broad range of health sector partners.

This strategy identifies:

  • Provincial pharmaceutical care management capabilities
  • Key themes across the current pharmaceutical care management landscape in B.C.
  • Strategic areas of focus, with goals and timelines
  • Target governance and operating models
  • Transformational roadmap, with key workstreams and critical capability builds

From low to high complexity

Low complexity of infrastructure, capacity, legislation, policy and contracts:

BC PharmaCare

  • Benefits
  • Beneficiaries
  • Providers
  • PharmNet

Medium complexity of infrastructure, capacity, legislation, policy and contracts:

Pharmaceutical services

  • Optimal drug use and formulary
  • Expanded benefits
  • Expanded scope for pharmacist
  • Enhanced PharmaNet access

High complexity of infrastructure, capacity, legislation, policy and contracts:

Pharmaceutical care management

  • Optimal drug use and formulary (health sector)
  • Seamless transitions between acute and community care
  • Patient-centred care and empowerment
  • Collaboratively defined pharmacist role in interdisciplinary care

Read the report of the Pharmaceutical Care Management Strategy (PDF, 3.64MB) for full details.

Complexity repeated in a diagram.

Key capability areas

The capability-driven PCMS focuses on the strengths necessary to deliver on PLBSD’s mandate while offering the greatest value to citizens. More than 50 partners who play key roles in pharmaceutical care management across the health sector were engaged to share perspectives on key capabilities, challenges and opportunities to deliver on the mandate. This included representatives from the Ministry of Health, the Provincial Health Services Authority, health authorities, regulatory colleges, research and academic institutions, health associations, health professionals, including family medicine and nursing, and community pharmacists.  

These key capability areas were identified:

  • Public and population health
  • Policy and funding
  • Design and delivery of pharmaceutical services
  • Design and delivery of pharmaceutical care
  • Human health resources management
  • Monitoring, reporting and evaluation
  • Digital IMIT, health technologies and infrastructure

Strategic areas of focus

To meet the needs of patients and populations, the PCMS aims to achieve the best possible patient outcomes from pharmaceutical care in nine strategic areas of focus:

  1. Integrated health systems planning and governance for pharmaceutical care management
  2. Primary care integration and collaboration
  3. Leveraging of community pharmacists
  4. Continuity of care re-design
  5. Provincial digital solutions that support access and integration of pharmacy care across the patient care trajectory
  1. Improved population health planning to support targeted interventions and optimal drug use
  2. System-level monitoring and evaluation and performance measurement
  3. Patient-centric digital tools, e.g. patient access to PharmaNet profiles, mobile applications for patients
  4. People and culture

 Implementing these strategic areas of focus will produce key shifts across the province: