The following opinion piece appeared in the Telegraph Journal and Daily Gleaner.
I recently had the opportunity to hear Premier Brian Gallant at his recent State of the Province address. He impressed me with his ability to present his messages and several resonated strongly with me and many other New Brunswick pharmacists.
The Premier said it’s time to get people out of hospitals, help families and communities and “shake the shackles off the status quo” in this province. Mr. Gallant then sincerely asked for the ideas and participation of every New Brunswicker to help accomplish that.
With that in mind, Mr. Premier, New Brunswick pharmacists have ideas and want to help.We need partners in government who are willing to listen and work with us to take action. New Brunswick has a tremendous - but often overlooked asset – in its toolbox: 800 highly trained pharmacists in 220 community pharmacies. Pharmacists are first, last and always – health care professionals. They are accessible, vital front-line health care providers, available evenings, weekends and holidays without an appointment. Community pharmacists are often the first health care providers that New Brunswickers turn to when they are sick or in pain. Our community pharmacies are important centres of health across New Brunswick, especially in rural communities.
Just look at what’s happening with flu shots. New Brunswick pharmacists have given 52,000 flu shots so far this year. That’s up from only 6,000 five years ago. Allowing pharmacists to give flu shots makes the vaccine more accessible to more patients and frees up doctors to deal with more serious health concerns. New Brunswickers have embraced the convenience of this service. It’s a terrific example of what can happen when pharmacists are allowed and encouraged to play an expanded role in our health care system.But there is so much more that pharmacists can and should be doing to ease the pressure off crowded ERs.
In 2014, New Brunswick MLAs unanimously approved a new Pharmacy Act which allows pharmacists to assess and treat 32 minor ailments. As part of our current Memorandum of Understanding with the New Brunswick government, the province has committed to reinvest a portion of the savings from its generic drug policy into pharmacy services. The Department of Health has indicated those savings to be about $285,000 this year.
Our suggestion as submitted to the government in July: use those savings to establish a Minor Ailments Pilot Project that reimburses pharmacies for eight minor ailments assessments: urinary tract infections, cold sores, allergic rhinitis, gastroesophageal reflux disease, mild acne, fungal infections of the skin, impetigo and eczema.
This pilot project will make it easier for New Brunswickers to access care for these minor conditions without requiring any additional infrastructure or additional spending. A similar pilot project in Nova Scotia was highly successful. Similar initiatives are underway in the United Kingdom as well.
Pharmacists have other ideas to improve the health care system: a trial prescription program to reduce drug wastage; medication adherence program to decrease hospitalizations; a pharmacist-led smoking cessation program; and a chronic disease management program to help keep more New Brunswickers healthy.
We can no longer rely on the ‘old way’ of caring for patients. It’s time for our policy makers to think boldly about the future of the pharmacy profession and to create the environment in which we can better serve the needs of our patients and our province by making better use of existing assets in our communities.
Mr. Premier, you are on record as being committed to expanding the role of health care practitioners, saving money and getting people out of hospitals.
Pharmacists are too.
You asked for ideas. We’ve got lots that make sense for patients and our province. Our proposal is on file with your government.
Let’s talk. Together, we can – as you said in your speech – move the province forward.
Daniel Pike (BSc., Pharm) is the President of the New Brunswick Pharmacists' Association and a practicing pharmacist in Fredericton, NB.