Nova Scotia’s Community Pharmacy Primary Care Clinics reported to be a smash success

Since launching in 2023, Nova Scotia’s Community Pharmacy Primary Care Clinics (CPPCC) have provided patients around the province with primary care services that have inspired other provinces like New Brunswick to trial similar programs, and pharmacy banners including Shoppers Drug Mart to continue to roll out pharmacy care clinics across Canada.In these clinics, pharmacists can assess and prescribe medications for minor ailments, such as eczema and heartburn, and chronic diseases, including diabetes, cardiovascular disease, asthma and COPD. They can also offer birth control, mental health services, addiction treatment and immunizations against illnesses like shingles. Services are paid for by the provincial government and come at no charge for those with a Nova Scotia Health Card. The clinics are also widely promoted by the province via it's provincial 811 Health Line.After roughly two years in operation the Pharmacy Association of Nova Scotia (PANS) have released their final report into the CPPCCs and found that patients are “highly satisfied” with their care. Indeed, 98% of patients responding to a patient survey rated their satisfaction as eight or higher out of 10, feeling confident in a pharmacist’s ability to help them with their health needs. Between February 2023 and October 2024, more than 218,000 services were provided at CPPCCs. Most of them involved prescription renewals, strep throat assessment, common (minor) ailments and chronic disease management support. Many (85%) of the chronic disease appointments were for patients without family doctors. Based on feedback from patients, the clinics are estimated to have diverted more than 10% of patients they helped from emergency departments and more than 25% from walk-in clinics. “At a time where there are healthcare human resource challenges everywhere, this model, which enables pharmacists to work to their full scope, is essential to attract and retain new professionals to Nova Scotia” said Allison Bodnar, CEO of PANS, in a press release.Read: The little province that could—and didAs of today, there are 46 clinics open across the province, and the program was expanded twice, first starting with just 12 sites. According to the published report, PANS is recommending better communication to patients about the service, better collaboration between clinics and other parts of the healthcare system, IT strategies to make clinics more effective, continued support and training for pharmacy staff and a sustainable long-term funding model to ensure that the CPPCCs continue to provide care going forward.Other provinces also have pharmacist-led primary care clinics, including Alberta, while others are experimenting with the idea. New Brunswick, for example, opened up six pilot locations and ran them for about a year and a half before the province pulled the plug on funding last month. Pharmacists in Saskatchewan are advocating for an expanded scope of care that will allow them to assess and treat additional common ailments. “The success of pharmacy primary care clinics is a testament to the important role community pharmacies have in the delivery of healthcare,” said Premier Tim Houston in the PANS press release. “Community pharmacies deliver care you can count on by providing access to healthcare close to home.”

Nova Scotia’s Community Pharmacy Primary Care Clinics reported to be a smash success

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