Evidence-based practice: Are we in or not?

I recently attended the 78th International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP) World Congress of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences in Glasgow and had the pleasure of sitting through a number of excellent sessions describing how pharmacists are being increasingly recognized and utilized as medication experts in health systems around the world. One of the underlying themes of the conference was evidence—how to generate it and how to evaluate it using tools and guidelines that weigh a number of factors, including study design and risk of bias. The advancements in pharmacy practice that we have seen in many countries, including Canada, have been based in large part on well-designed pharmacy practice research that has provided strong evidence of improved patient outcomes, economic benefits or other improvements in health care delivery as a result of changes to the scope of practice for pharmacists. This type of evidence is increasingly being demanded by regulators and policy makers to support not only the approval of new medications but also changes to the way in which health care is delivered and paid for