Sean Spina

BSc(Pharm), ACPR, PharmD, FCSHP

Regional Manager, Clinical Pharmacy Services, Island Health

Clinical Associate Professor - University of British Columbia

Adjunct Assistant Professor - University of Victoria, Health Information Sciences

Twitter: @SeanSpinaRx

Overview

Dr. Spina is the principal investigator for the Alternatives to Traditional Hospital Care Offered in Monitored Environments (AT-HOME) research team where he focuses his research on evaluating the impact of incorporating technology into clinical practice.

Research

• Hospital at Home
• Patients’ and Family Caregivers’ and Health Care Provider Experiences with a Hospital at Home Program in British Columbia, Canada (2025 Presented at World Hospital at Home Congress, Vienna Austria) Poster
• A Tool for Predicting the Risk of Escalation in a Canadian Hospital at Home Program (2025 Presented at World Hospital at Home Congress, Vienna Austria) Poster
• Patients’ and Family Caregivers’ Experiences with a Newly Implemented Hospital at Home Program in British Columbia, Canada | Poster
• Investigation of the impact of a Pharmacist in a Hospital At home Care Team (IN PHACT) | Poster
• Engaging Patients and Families as Partners: A Canadian Approach to Developing, Implementing, and Evaluating Hospital at Home| Poster
• Impact of pharmacist-led standardized medication teaching videos on patient and clinician experience| Poster
• Investigation into the Cleaning Methods of Smartphones and Wearables from Infectious Contamination in a Patient Care Environment (I-SWIPE) | Poster 
• Secure Messaging and Clinical Communication Solution (SMaCCS) Trial | Poster 
• Integrating Smartphone Communication Strategy and Technology into Clinical Pharmacy Practice | Poster

Select Publications

• Patrick M, Harder CK, Spina SP. Investigation of the impact of a Pharmacist in a Hospital At Home Care Team (IN PHACT). Can Pharm J (Ott) 2023;156:324-330
• Spina SP, Haddadi R, Mukai K et al. Patients’ and Family Caregivers’ experiences with a newly implemented Hospital at Home program in British Columbia, Canada. – Part I: Preliminary results. Patient Experience Journal. 2023; 10(1):93-106.
• Spina SP, Hainstock T, Haddadi R et al. Engaging patients and families in developing, implementing, and evaluating hospital at home: A Canadian case study. Patient Experience Journal. 2022; 9(1):217-226. 
• Patrick M, Harder CK, Spina SP. Hospital at Home: The Role for Clinical Pharmacists in an Innovative Acute Care Model in British Columbia. Canadian Pharmacists Journal 2022;155:1
• Spina SP, Atwood KM, Loewen P. Evaluation of Secure Mobile and Clinical Communication Solution (SMaCCS) across acute and community practice settings. BMJ Innovations 2020;0: 1–8.
• Chan, S., Spina, S.P., Zuk, D.M. et al. Hospital pharmacists understanding of available health literacy assessment tools and their perceived barriers for incorporation in patient education – a survey study. BMC Health Serv Res 20, 401 (2020). 
• Huffman S, Webb C, Spina, SP. Investigation into the Cleaning Methods of Smartphones and Wearables from Infectious Contamination in a Patient Care Environment (I-SWIPE).  AJIC: American Journal of Infection Control, 2020-05-01, Volume 48, Issue 5, Pages 545-549
• Webb C, Spina SP, Young S. Integrating smartphone communication strategy and technology into clinical practice: A mixed methods research study. Health Policy and Technology 2016; 5: pp 370 - 375.
• Lo E, Rainkie D, Forbes DA, Spina SP et al. Measurement of Clinical Pharmacy Key Performance Indicators to Focus and Improve Your Hospital Pharmacy Practice CJHP 2016; 69:149-155. 
• Power JMH, Spina SP, Forbes DA et al. Integration of Smartphones into Clinical Pharmacy Practice: An Evaluation of the Impact on Pharmacists’ Efficiency. Health Policy and Technology 2014; 3.
• Cartwright AL, Spina SP. Smartphones in clinical pharmacy practice: Is it evidence-based? Health Policy and Technology 2014;3:85-89. 
• Lorimer H, Lalli SL, Spina SP, Pharmacy Practice Model Redesign at a Tertiary Care Teaching Hospital. CJHP 2013; 66(1):28-34. 

Honours and Awards 

• CSHP National 2023 Excellence in Pharmacy Practice – Interprofessional Collaboration. “INvestigation of the impact of a Pharmacist in a Hospital At Home Care Team (IN PHACT)” March 2023, Banff, Alberta, Canada
• 2022 Excellence in Patient Experience Award for Hospital at Home by Canadian College of Health Leader– June 2022
• Health Employers Association of British Columbia; Excellence in BC Health Care Award; Award of Merit recipient in the Workplace Health Innovation – January 2021
• Health Employers Association of British Columbia; Excellence in BC Health Care Award; Award of Merit recipient in the Workplace Health Innovation category February 2021
• Caring Greatly™ podcast “Episode 6”. Apple Podcasts, September 2019.
• Nominated for Canadian Health Informatics Leader of the Year Award, Digital Health Canada 2019.
• Intelligent Health Association Award: 2018 IHA Improving Patient Care and Health Delivery / Honorable Mention, HIMSS2018, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA.
• Health Employers Association of British Columbia; Excellence in BC Health Care Award; Top Innovation - Health Authority  – June 2017.
• CSHP National Management and Leadership Best Practices Award: “Assessment of the impact of pharmacy learners on essential patient care processes” February 2017, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
• Nominated for 2016 BC Health Care Award “Innovation Award” for smartphone integrated communication strategy project.
• Conferred Fellows (FCSHP) recognition by Recognition Committee of CSHP. Toronto, ON, February 2016. 

Media

2017 Excellence in BC Health Care Awards: Top Innovation  

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2012 Excellence in BC Health Care Awards: Health Care Hero 

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