Dispatch from Pharmacy Expo 2024: What’s next for community pharmacy?

The theme of Pharmacy Expo 2024 was “Thriving Together for Tomorrow: Global Vision and Local Action,” and it definitely ended on an actionable note.Pharmacists have an important role to play in the remediation of primary healthcare. And as attendees at Pharmacy EXPO 2024 in Halifax heard, the impetus to make that happen is accelerating. On the third day of the four-day conference and meeting for members of the Neighbourhood Pharmacies Association of Canada, the latter issued a formal call to action to all provincial jurisdictions asking them to take steps to immediately to integrate a pharmacy primary care clinic model as a way to maximize healthcare resources and enable broader, more accessible care.Read: Everywhere in Canada should allow pharmacy-led clinics: Neighbourhood PharmaciesPharmacy-led clinics "a no-brainer:” premierThat announcement came on the heels of an informal Q&A with Pharmacy Association of Nova Scotia (PANS) CEO Allison Bodnar and Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston who reiterated not just the impressive results, but the ‘all-hands-on-deck’ momentum that led to the success of that province’s pharmacy primary care project. In that program, a partnership between PANS, the provincial College of Pharmacists and the province, pharmacists handled more than 350,000 primary care visits over the last year and were in great part responsible for reducing emergency department visits by 9% over the previous year (despite a population growth of almost 9%).Now, Nova Scotia is moving quickly from the project phase, involving 31 community pharmacies, to a rollout across “as many of the province’s 300 pharmacies as possible, in whatever form makes the most sense,” said Bodnar.Using pharmacists as primary care providers is a “no brainer,” said Houston. “If you have someone who is able to do the job and wants to do the job, you should allow them to do the job.” Houston also boasted of the provincial primary care app which each citizen can use to help them access the right care from the right provider as quickly and as close to them as possible. Eventually, each Nova Scotian will be able to access their own health information on their app, he said.Nova Scotia’s unique and collaborative government is a key part in the quick rollout of this successful program, said Bodnar, noting that the premier holds quarterly summits with leaders from across the spectrum of healthcare where everyone is asked "What have you done to help, and what more can you do to help?”Moderator and senior vice-president for Pharmacy Affairs and Strategic Engagement at Neighbourhood Pharmacies Shelita Dattani said that same level of collaboration is needed across all provinces to alleviate the healthcare crisis threatening the care of so many Canadians.Enabling the next level of careEarlier in the Pharmacy EXPO, a panel including John Colaizzi, vice-president for Pharmacy Practice for Walgreens, and Alicia Matthews-Kent, senior vice-president for pharmacy strategy at Neighbourly Pharmacy Inc. describe some of the steps their companies are taking to enable their pharmacists to step up into their full scope and play a leading role in primary care.At Walgreens, Colaizzi said the company is "working feverishly to take data entry and fulfillment our of our pharmacies.” About one-third of Walgreens prescriptions are handled by central fill, he said, and 90% of scripts are electronic only. For Kent, workplace satisfaction, communication and appropriate staffing and resourcing are all steps being taken to support the capacity of their pharmacists to increase patient care services.As an association representing community pharmacies and their suppliers, Neighbourhood Pharmacies outlined the ways its advocating for pharmacy’s interests in Canada, including directing the policy underlying Canada’s proposed national Pharmacare program and increasing the profile (and interests) of Canadian pharmacies on the international stage, including taking a lead role in helping to create global vaccination policies. Increased information sharing and collaboration with international organizations such as the U.S. National Community Pharmacists Association has also helped Neighbourhood Pharmacies in their efforts to protect the interests of Canadian pharmacies as issues such as the encroachment of pharmacy benefits managers into patient choice cross the border.

Dispatch from Pharmacy Expo 2024: What’s next for community pharmacy?

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