My LinkedIn feed chimed in the other day to notify that the 4th anniversary of PharmAspire is fast approaching. Four years. A full election cycle. A round of Olympic Games has come and gone. Pharmacy? I would say we’ve had plenty of evolution during that time, much of it chronicled on these pages. Thank you so much for reading and joining in the movement to practice on our terms…in our terms.

The topic today centres around my fascination with numbers. As long as I can remember, the logic and the consistency that numbers provide has ruled my behavior and my approach to problems. They are universal in meaning, and exist in all languages. In a digital age, information may be stored as never before. Numbers are broadcasted and converted to sound-waves, they are used to form images that we share with one another. They help explain this vast three-dimensional world we live in, and through theoretical physics, suggest dimensions beyond our own.

Nowadays, the numbers that pharmacists care most about are about the evidence. How treat-able is a disease? What monitoring parameters do we need for drug therapy? To which demographic slice does this guideline pertain?

A quick look at the Statscan homepage shows some interesting nuggets. Did you know that in 2014, the percentage of the population that were current smokers (18.1%), was virtually identical with the WHO classification for heavy drinkers (17.9%) and both were slightly higher than those previously diagnosed with high blood pressure (17.7%)?

The page also points out that over half (54%) of adults and almost 1 in 4 (23.7%) of youth were classified as overweight or obese. I find that amazing. How are we doing in the realm of mental health?

These numbers represent about 20 million people, meaning that 9-10 million do not report having very good or excellent mental health. The alarming thing is that these percentages are declining at 0.5% a year (~150000 people), with the largest fall coming from women aged 20-34:

Here are a few more  observations from Laura:

57- The average number of times Devin must remind Laura to please look at and edit his post so he can put it up (for the love of God)!

2- the number of cups of coffee needed by the editor to survive the day.

2- the number of cups of coffee needed by the editor so all other pharmacy staff and customers survive the day.

200mg- the number of morphine equivalents allowed to be prescribed in chronic non-cancer pain in NS right now.

50mg- the number of morphine equivalents that will be allowed to be prescribed in chronic non-cancer pain in NS in the next year or so.  Will funding for addiction services increase to account for this drastic decrease? We sure hope so.

It’s an important question given the stagnating economy and the illicit drug crises occurring in major Canadian centres like Vancouver and Toronto. It’s one thing to restrict access to contraband. It’s quite another to restrict prescribing of legitimate therapy without offering alternative counseling support or treatment options.

Before we paint by numbers, and generalize too much, we need to remember that each case is different. Poor mental health is pervasive and affects so many of us living with or without any co-morbidities. As front-line healthcare providers, pharmacists may be in position to intervene earlier with a frank discussion or a recommendation to a physician.

At the outset, I mentioned that numbers help explain the world around us. No one wants to feel like ‘just a number’, lost in the system with little cause for hope. Each one of those ‘numbers’ has a story to tell. Are we ready to listen?

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of any agency, employer or affiliation.