Prairie pharmacists get questioned on quotas

Just weeks after its counterpart in Ontario launched a survey about corporate pressures in pharmacy, the Saskatchewan College of Pharmacy Professionals wrapped up its own survey where it asked similar questions of its members.“We want to hear from our licensed members and interns/students about their experiences in their workplace,” the college wrote in a message to its members. “We have created a survey that will give us an overview of situations where pharmacy professionals felt pressured at work to do things that may not align with their professional standards, judgement, Code of Ethics and best interests of the patient.”Findings from the survey will help the college shape its bylaws, standards and policies “to support safe pharmacy practice in Saskatchewan,” the message further said.The college did not respond in time to an email inquiry about the survey from Pharmacy Practice + Business.On March 25, the Ontario College of Pharmacists (OCP) presented the results of its survey, which drew a record-high response from nearly 4,300 pharmacy professionals. Among these respondents, about seven in 10 said they experienced some type of pressure from their employer to do more clinical services.Shoppers Drug Mart was cited by almost 1,700 respondents as the place where they experienced this corporate pressure. Another 600 said they were subjected to pressure at a Loblaw pharmacy while just under 400 said they experienced this at a Rexall pharmacy.The OCP subsequently issued a statement announcing a zero-tolerance stance against unethical business practices such as quotas on medication reviews, and that it had retained legal counsel to explore potential future actions to address the issue.Read: The question of quotas: As pharmacists wait for answers, Ontario's Health Ministry responds with the status quo“We are considering every tool available to us within our authority,” the OCP wrote in an April 5 email to Pharmacy Practice + Business. “The solutions to the concerns that have been shared with us won’t lie with us alone and we will look to collaborate with other system partners including government to address these concerns effectively.”At this point, noted the OCP, the college continues to evaluate the information it had gathered through the survey as well as from town halls, “so it is too early to put a timeline on any specific actions we might take.”Other colleges have registered their disapproval of employer-imposed quotas on pharmacy services.Beverley Zwicker, registrar and CEO at the Nova Scotia College of Pharmacists, told Pharmacy Practice + Business that any pharmacy owner who imposes quotas on clinical services is “setting yourself up for unethical behavior by your staff when you set numeric targets. As the regulator, if we find out that a pharmacist is billing for services that weren't actually provided or were provided in a sub-par way that didn't meet the standards, we would certainly take that pharmacist to task but we're also going to be looking at the policies of the pharmacy and holding the owner responsible for any role that they had.”Zwicker’s position was backed by the province’s Department of Health and Wellness, which stated that it does not “support the use of quotas” and that it has established clear criteria for each publicly funded service and that includes audits.Read: 'Counsel has been retained': Ontario college takes zero-tolerance stance against corporate pressure on pharmacistsIn New Brunswick, the pharmacy college pointed to a recent internal taskforce recommendation to “prevent activities that prioritize business or financial interests over patient care.”Meanwhile the Newfoundland and Labrador Pharmacy board has said it will “continue to monitor this and other issues that may impact the care people receive from pharmacy professionals in our province and how we can positively influence issues through our regulatory role. “The Alberta College of Pharmacy said it is working to “better understand this changing environment, and to contextualize the reports you refer to. This will allow us to work with other provincial pharmacy regulators to analyze alternatives, and make evidence-informed, workable policy decisions as determined necessary.”Read: Between a 'quota' and a hard place: Many pharmacists tell us they increasingly face mandatory targets on clinical services

Prairie pharmacists get questioned on quotas

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