Y’know, Bill 179 has passed, giving pharmacists the opportunity to expand their practice. Except there are a few things going on that are throwing a bit of a wrinkle into the works.People are getting excited about remote dispensing, because it threatens pharmacists’ traditional role. In theory, this technology is for places like Attawapiskat where no pharmacy exists. There are chain and pharmacy owners who like the idea because they could expand hours by servicing kiosks in countless locations with a single pharmacist or pharmacy. Good for the business, not so much for the pharmacists who get their hours cut, or for the patient who has to talk to a TV screen about their delicate issues. Pharmacists who work for a living (i.e. don’t own or work for an owner) should probably take heed. Don’t think this could happen? Owners or chain who haven’t thought about this new option aren’t very good at their jobs. Have they asked any non-owner pharmacists their opinion? Probably not.Not worried about losing your job or getting hours cut? Did you know that just as pharmacists can perform acts under delegation from physicians, some pharmacist acts might be delegated to non-pharmacists. Of course, with Bill 179 that won’t matter so much anymore, as nurses and others will be hired to dispense, putting pharmacists out of work. Don’t think it could happen? I’ll bet you it already is.You might have heard about some acrimony between government and pharmacy, particularly pharmacy owners. Good old Bill 102, the author of TDSPA, set the table for how things would work. (Not particularly well, apparently.) We have a government taking every opportunity to cut costs out of pharmacy programs, not just public but private as well, under the premise that pharmacy is profiteering. And some fortunes have been made, and lost (although not, again, by “real” pharmacists). The battle rages on about who is telling the truth, and who is lying—meanwhile, the conversation about how pharmacists can help make people better can’t be heard over the gnashing of teeth.I bet you want to blame your pharmacy organizations because they haven’t represented you well. But the fact is, they can only represent what they see and hear from pharmacists. The silent majority —pharmacists who work in someone else’s dispensary—isn’t heard from. This is because they don’t speak up, not because no one is listening. Perhaps it’s because you feel you have no way to make a difference.Well, keep up hope, because right now in Ontario, there is a battle being waged in which the government is ready, and pharmacy owners are ready, to place you right in the middle of their battle. The government is going to say they love us (“real” pharmacists), it is those mean old pharmacy owners that they have a problem with. Meanwhile, those pharmacy owners want to trot out their helpful, caring, “real” pharmacists to say that they will be lost to patients if the government keeps on making cuts.So, you have your opportunity. Ask questions, and find out what the issues are and how they may affect you. There's a lot of rhetoric, spin, rumours, and speculation out there. Be careful and thoughtful and analytical, and then, be active. Because, in the end, no one has more to lose in this battle than you do.
