Everywhere in Canada should allow pharmacy-led clinics: Neighbourhood Pharmacies

At the Neighbourhood Pharmacy Association of Canada’s annual #EXPO2024 in Halifax, Nova Scotia’s premier and CEO of the province’s pharmacy association, Allison Bodnar, both touted the success of its local pharmacy-led clinics.“Pharmacy-led clinics are a critical part of fixing healthcare and one of the first things our government focused on,” said Premier Tim Houston. “By expanding their scope of care, pharmacists in Nova Scotia can now diagnose, treat and prescribe for a wide range of common illnesses, like strep throat, that would have otherwise required a doctor’s office or emergency department.”Currently more than two dozen pharmacies in Nova Scotia are participating in the Community Pharmacy Primary Care Clinics pilot project. These pharmacies give patients appointment-based care that can include vaccinations, assessing and prescribing for certain common or chronic diseases. One upshot has been that patients can often receive same-day care and potentially after-hours.Marie-Claude Vézina, chair of the Board at Neighbourhood Pharmacies Association said other Canadian jurisdictions should embrace this type of arrangement as one solution to the overburdened healthcare system. Read: The little province that could—and did“The status quo for primary care in Canada is no longer sustainable,” she said. “Provincial governments must embrace innovation and invest in solutions-oriented approaches that leverage pharmacies to alleviate primary care challenges in their regions.”A release from the association emphasized that the Nova Scotia government’s cooperation with those working in pharmacy is a model other provinces and territories should follow. “Neighbourhood Pharmacies calls on all jurisdictions to learn from Nova Scotia's success in optimizing the scope, skills, and accessibility that community pharmacies and their teams offer to address primary care challenges,” the release read. “By fully embracing the role of community pharmacies, providing necessary resources, and maintaining consistent government support, Canada can take critical steps needed to build a sustainable and patient-directed healthcare system.”

Everywhere in Canada should allow pharmacy-led clinics: Neighbourhood Pharmacies

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