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CALGARY – Clinical pharmacology and wound care tele-advice services have been added to Specialist LINK.
Both services can be requested by visiting specialistlink.ca and clicking on the new 'Specialty Services' button (which also includes Refugee Health) or by calling 403-910-2551 (press 5, 6 for clinical pharmacology and 5, 7 for wound care). Physicians can expect a call back within one hour.
Clinical pharmacology
About the service: The Clinical Pharmacology Physician Consultation Service in Calgary is based at the Foothills Medical Centre. It is available for adult patients with any of the following issues:
Suspected adverse drug events of any kind (e.g. prolonged QTc, DRESS syndrome, Stevens Johnson syndrome, abnormal laboratory results)
Questions about restarting medications after an adverse drug event
Specific therapeutically complex conditions including uncontrolled hypertension
Unusual or unpredicted therapeutic responses to medications (unexplained inefficacy or toxic effects)
New or unusual drug interactions
Supra or subtherapeutic drug concentrations
Deprescribing (advice on reducing or stopping medications that are no longer needed)
Polypharmacy advice
Management of substance withdrawal/drug discontinuation syndromes
Suspected drug-induced laboratory abnormalities
Questions about pharmacogenomic testing
Therapeutic drug monitoring questions not normally managed by the Clinical Pharmacist
More information: Please note that this group is complimentary to a pharmacist service. If you work closely with a clinical pharmacist you may consider the following reasons to consult your pharmacist first:
Drug interaction checks
Questions about common adverse drug reactions
Safe drug dosing in renal or hepatic dysfunction
Medication reconciliation completion or questions
Common therapeutic drug monitoring questions (e.g. vancomycin, gentamicin, digoxin)
The Poison and Drug Information Service (PADIS) Medical Toxicology consultation service sees acutely poisoned patients throughout the city. Please continue to refer all questions and consultations about such patients to PADIS at 1-800-332-1414. Referrals to the FMC Addiction Service can be made Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Access to an Addiction Medicine specialist in opioid dependency is also available between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m., seven days a week, through RAAPID. More information is available at https://www.albertahealthservices.ca/info/page15558.aspx.
Wound care
About the service: The Wound Care Clinic is located at the Sheldon M. Chumir Health Centre and referrals are accepted through Home Care. Examples of tele-advice topics or questions include the following:
Does my patient have a chronic wound? What are my next steps to manage this problem?
How do I choose a dressing protocol or more simply, what dressing should I apply?
When do I reassess the wound for progress?
How do I know if an antibiotic is needed?
What is the approach for treating a diabetic foot wound?
My patient had stitches in emergency five days ago and now the wound has dehiscence. What do I do now?
What to apply on a burn?
How to care for sutured wounds
When should I refer to home care wound services?
How do I get my patient to the wound clinic at Chumir?
Other resources: If patient needs to be seen, referrals can be made to Central Access and Triage for Home Care Team: Fax 403-943-1602
About Specialist LINK
There are currently 48 tele-advice services available to Calgary and area family doctors via Specialist LINK. Please review our tele-advice user guide for more details about each service, all of which can be requested online at specialistlink.ca or via phone. The physician (or team member) requesting advice should always leave a direct line or cellphone for the physician seeking a call. The physician should also have the patient’s personal health number at hand and their PRAC ID. Physicians who choose to request tele-advice service by phone can click here to view the phone tree, which acts a quick reference guide to the services available and how to access them.
In addition to offering tele-advice, specialistlink.ca is home to pathways and other resources for family physicians. For any technical issues related to Specialist LINK, please email [email protected].