Shoppers Drug Mart billed Ontario almost $62M for MedsCheck in 14 months: Toronto Star investigation

A new investigation by the Toronto Star found that Shoppers Drug Mart billed $61.9 million in a 14-month period to the Ontario government for medication reviews under the province’s MedsCheck program. Reporting in the Star raised concerns about whether the pharmacy and grocery chain is abusing the Ontario Drug Benefit program, while providing little benefit for patients.One anonymous pharmacist interviewed by the Star said there was expectation that they perform 80 to 100 MedsCheck reviews per week during COVID-19. Before the pandemic, they were “applauded” if they performed 25 such checks in a week.According to information obtained by the Star, Shoppers Drug Mart pharmacies billed the Ontario health ministry for just over 1.2 million MedsCheck between January 2023 and March 2024. That means that Shoppers, owned by grocery giant Loblaws Inc., billed for about 60% of the medication reviews done in the province—despite only making up about 13% of the total pharmacies in Ontario. Each MedsCheck should take about 20-to-30 minutes, and reporting in the Star suggested that quotas brings into question whether the intended thoroughness of each review is being achieved. Notably, in early 2024, an email from a Shoppers' spokesperson to Pharmacy Practice + Business denied the existence of quotas for any pharmacy services. “Pharmacists across the country support their patients with this service. We take exception to any suggestion that pharmacists are inappropriately billing for the service, or that they are at any point doing something that is not allowed by their training and/or college requirements,” the email read. Loblaws told the Star that the decision to deliver a service “must always be made by the pharmacist and we adhere to that principle.”The province, when asked about how they can ensure MedsCheck program rules are being followed, said that it would be “improving” the program to “support health outcomes” and “reduce unnecessary duplication and administrative red tape while continuing to protect patient choice.” It also told the Star that it is working with consultants from the sector to see how the program can be improve and has posted its regulations for public feedback. The pharmacists interviewed by the Star say that there’s nothing wrong with performing medication checks, and there can be great benefit to the patient if done properly, like preventing unintended side effects and hospital visits. But, as of now, there is little research about Ontario’s program and whether it does indeed lead to better patient outcomes.Doctors interviewed by the Star said that medication reviews are, on the whole, not useful.Pharmacy Practice + Business reached out to Loblaw Inc. for additional comment on the data in the Star's reporting, but a spokesperson did not immediately respond.

Shoppers Drug Mart billed Ontario almost $62M for MedsCheck in 14 months: Toronto Star investigation

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