Pharmacists say they can do more and save the province money

Pharmacists in Newfoundland and Labrador are suggesting they be allowed to branch out and offer more medical services to patients to help ease the burden on the health care system.

• Pharmacists' new power to treat and prescribe will come with a fee
• N.L. pharmacists allowed to prescribe for, treat minor ailments

Recently, pharmacists were permitted to give flu vaccines and to prescribe for minor ailments, things that pharmacists in other provinces have been doing for years. 

"For years, people go to the pharmacy, they pick up their medication and they probably don't give much thought to the expertise, the clinical oversight and so on, that goes into even filling one prescription," said Glenda Power, executive director of the Pharmacy Association of Newfoundland and Labrador (PANL).

"We want to raise awareness about that, but also about the additional services now that pharmacists can offer to the patients of Newfoundland and Labrador because the face of pharmacy in our province and across the country is changing."

Broader scope saves money

For the month of March, PANL is launching a new radio ad to mark Pharmacist Awareness Month.

It saves on things downstream such as hospitalization and emergency visits.- Dr. Carlo Marra

The ad — which says "pharmacists offer more than just pills" — focuses on the many duties a pharmacist can now perform.

While the main goal is to educate the public about what is offered, Power said the profession needs to work with the province to make sure they "optimize the scope" of pharmacists.

She added that while there has been great progress made, it took a long time to get the green light for pharmacists to give flu vaccination shots, and even then the government did not fund it.

"If you walk into your doctor's office [or] you go to an Eastern Health clinic, you can get your flu shot free of charge. You go to a pharmacy for the convenience … it's easy in and out [but] you pay a fee," said Power.

"Premier Ball said himself that, that's illogical and that he would work with PANL to change that, haven't heard from him yet ... but it makes so much sense."

Ball worked for many years as a pharmacist before entering public life. 

Dr. Carlo Marra, dean of Memorial University's School of Pharmacy, agrees with Power adding that increased pharmacy services like vaccinations will save the healthcare system money in the long term.

"It makes sense for more people to get vaccinated ... to improve the cost effectiveness and the economic returns on the flu vaccine, it only makes sense for pharmacists to be able do that, to extend the rates of vaccination across people who actually need it," he said. 

"It saves on things downstream such as hospitalization and emergency visits."

Faced with dramatically less revenue, Newfoundland and Labrador's Liberal government has asked every department and agency to find savings. The health sector is the largest source of spending in the provincial budget. 

Marra said if pharmacists played a bigger role it would help save some of that money.

He was involved in a study in British Columbia dealing with osteoarthritis that showed pharmacists could not only improve health outcomes but do it at a lower cost. He referred to another study in Alberta that showed the same.

"[The study] looked specifically at comparing the ability of pharmacists to manage high blood pressure, complete with medication changes, compared to usual care, which typically is doctors, and they did a better job by a large margin," said Marra.

Pharmacist clinic

MUN's School of Pharmacy is now operating a medication therapy services clinic, which is the third of its kind in Canada, according to Marra.

He said the clinic provides a clinical service but also evaluates the scope of pharmacy in the province.

There are efficiencies to be achieved ... it could be an incentive for the public to take that up if it was included in the funding as it is for physicians.- Glenda Power

It operates on referrals from family doctors for patients who have complex medication needs, and who are seen exclusively by a pharmacist.

"People who are on a bunch of drugs, who need maybe simplification of their regimens … who need help with taking their medications and getting a more safe and effective therapy," said Marra.

"Not only is it a clinic, but it's also a research centre, so we'll be helping bring up the scope of practice, the ability for pharmacists to do things in the province and we'll be doing a bunch of evaluation around pharmacy and pharmaceutical policy."

"There are efficiencies to be achieved and ... it could be an incentive for the public to take that up if it was included in the funding as it is for physicians. It makes no sense that it isn't there and government will not see the benefit that pharmacists are saying will be happen until they fix that," Power said.