A continuing professional development (CPD) program for pharmacists practicing in community and team-based primary care settings was developed and evaluated using Moore’s framework for the assessment of continuing medical education. The program had three components: online lectures, a two-day training workshop, and patient case studies. Knowledge (pre-post multiple choice test); attitudes, readiness, and comfort with applying pharmacogenomics in their practices (pre-post surveys); and experiences of implementing pharmacogenomics in practice (semi-structured interviews) were assessed. Twenty-one of 26 enrolled pharmacists successfully completed the program, and were satisfied with their experience. Almost all achieved a score of 80% or higher on the post-training multiple choice test, with significantly improved scores compared to the pre-training test. Pre- and post-training surveys demonstrated that participants felt that their knowledge and competence increased upon completion of the training. In the follow-up, 15 pharmacists incorporated pharmacogenomics testing into care for 117 patients. Ten pharmacists participated in semi-structured interviews, reporting strong performance in the program, but some difficulty implementing new knowledge in their practices. This multi-component CPD program successfully increased pharmacists’ knowledge, readiness, and comfort in applying pharmacogenomics to patient care in the short-term, yet some pharmacists struggled to integrate this new service into their practices.

Research exploring the integration of pharmacogenomics (PGx) testing by pharmacists into their primary care practices (including community pharmacies) has focused on the “external” factors that impact practice implementation. In this study, additional “internal” factors, related to the capabilities, opportunities, and motivations of pharmacists that influence their ability to implement PGx testing, were analyzed. Semi-structured interview data from the Pharmacists as Personalized Medicine Experts (PRIME) study, which examined the barriers and facilitators to implementing PGx testing by pharmacists into primary care practice, were analyzed. Through thematic analysis, using the theoretical domains framework (TDF) domains as deductive codes, the authors identified the most relevant TDF domains and applied the behavioural change wheel (BCW) to generate intervention types to aid in the implementation of PGx testing. Pharmacists described how their professional identities, practice environments, self-confidence, and beliefs in the benefits of PGx impacted their ability to provide a PGx-testing service. Potential interventions to improve the implementation of the PGx service included preparing pharmacists for managing an increased patient load, helping pharmacists navigate the software and technology requirements associated with the PGx service, and streamlining workflows and documentation requirements. As interest in the wide-scale implementation of PGx testing through community pharmacies grows, additional strategies need to address the “internal” factors that influence the ability of pharmacists to integrate testing into their practices.

Comprehensive and standardized health workforce data are the foundation of more robust planning and evidence-informed decision-making in the face of multiple crises. This paper describes the process, results, and lessons learned in co-developing an inclusive, interprofessional health workforce minimum data standard (MDS) for planning. A four-phase development process was undertaken: 1) we gathered existing data standards through an environmental scan and literature review, from which we synthesized common data elements into modules; 2) we gathered input through collaborator engagement on the suitability of these data elements to address their priority planning questions; 3) we reviewed the retained data elements with information garnered from an ongoing integrated primary care health workforce planning process; 4) collaborating partners provided detailed feedback on the drafted MDS data elements. Data elements, their sources and other metadata identified from the scans were synthesized into three modules on health worker capacity, education, and identification. Consultation feedback led to refinements and additional data elements. The retrospective review led to a streamlining of the number elements within each module. Partner feedback led to further refinement, mindful of implementation, including dividing them into a core and supplemental set. Co-developing an MDS for planning benefits from building off existing data standards, open and ongoing collaborator engagement for buy-in, and practical considerations balancing adding more data against finding the right data elements to fit planning needs. Although the MDS was developed for a Canadian context, the approach and outputs are transferable to other settings.