‘Built for the future’: Are Ontario’s Pharmacy Care Clinics where the field is headed?

What does the pharmacy of the future look like? Shoppers Drug Mart has an idea—and it looks a lot like a doctor's office. The chain opened its latest Pharmacy Care Clinics in Ontario earlier this month in Georgetown and says it follows a new template made for what's to come. The clinics—which the chain is calling the “future of pharmacy format”—have a redesigned pharmacy section of the store. The counselling space has been expanded and looks more like a traditional healthcare space, with three counselling rooms, a staffer that checks people in and manages the clinic’s administrative side, and decor that looks more like a doctor's office than a pharmacy. Patients can book appointments or walk in if they prefer. Next to it, the dispensary has also been redesigned, with updated decor and new ideas like prescription lockers for people who are picking up prescriptions they don’t need counselling for. Read: The little province that could—and didThe new stores are in Burlington, Mississauga and Georgetown. They were inspired by the success of similar clinics across the country, says Jeff Leger, pharmacist and president of Shoppers Drug Mart. The first pharmacist-led clinic Shoppers opened was in Lethbridge, Alberta, in the summer of 2022. “We thought, with the scope of practice in Alberta, wouldn’t it be great if we tested putting the pharmacist in the clinic and see if that would increase awareness and provide much-needed access to care? And it did. Immediately, it was very busy—think the average was well north of 40 patients per day,” says Leger. Shoppers will have 74 pharmacist clinics across the country by the end of the year, in Alberta, Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. The services offered in the new Ontario clinics aren’t unique: they assess and prescribe for minor ailments and administer vaccines. These are all services that are available at traditional Shoppers pharmacies, as well as others across the province. They also offer point-of-care testing for average blood sugar and cholesterol. Read: 6 steps to take before you add minor ailment prescribing to your pharmacyInstead, the changes are focused on the idea of a redesigned, more efficient, more patient-focused pharmacy. Counselling rooms contain examination tables and unique attributes as well. For example, one room has the ability to change the colour of the lights to different colours—so it can be used for things like matching a child’s favourite colour to reduce stress during vaccinations. “We wanted to create an elevated experience that’s much more professional,” says Leger, adding that they believe provinces will continue to add more scope and the clinics will be able to provide more care as well. “They’re built for the future,” he says.Read: Can pharmacies advertise their services as ‘clinics?’

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