New Brunswick pharmacists step up to help relieve pressure on health-care system

N.B. pharmacists take on new responsibilities Pharmacists in New Brunswick now have the ability to assess and prescribe medicine for seven more illnesses and conditions.

New Brunswick pharmacists are stepping up and taking on more responsibilities in order to do their part to help relieve some of the pressure on the health-care system.

The Department of Health announced Monday that pharmacists can now access and prescribe for more illnesses and conditions, giving New Brunswickers another option when it comes to getting primary care.

“They want to do more,” said Health Minister Bruce Fitch. “They say we can expand our scope of practice, so this today is moving that step forward and adding a number of aliments that can be treated and I’m sure they will say they are ready to do more.”

Seven new aliments are now publicly funded at pharmacies in the province:

“There’s probably 80,000 visits to physicians for these types of aliments, so we’re freeing up 80,000 appointments basically for another, more complicated aliment that the doctors would be available for,” said Fitch.

New Brunswick Pharmacists’ Association president Andrew Drover says pharmacists have been providing for minor aliments since 2014.

“There are 34 aliments that the pharmacists are permitted to assess and prescribe for,” said Drover. “These seven would bring it up to 11 that are paid for by Medicare. So the other 23 are available, but the cost for the visit with the pharmacist is not currently covered or publicly paid.”

The hope is that this new link in the health-care system will allow for faster, more direct care for residents and free up space at doctors offices and hospitals.

“People tend to go to their pharmacy most often,” said Drover.

“Pharmacists are the most accessible health-care practitioner in New Brunswick, so people go to their pharmacists quite often, and until today, they might see their pharmacists and they might access another practitioner and then come back to the pharmacy with a prescription. This allows them to access primary health care during their first visit rather than making three separate visits.”

Overall, officials say this is welcomed news within pharmacies, adding that while there will be an adjustment period as new responsibilities are added, it is something pharmacists say they are looking forward to.

“We just want to be able to help facilitate care for patients,” said Riverview Guardian Pharmacy owner and pharmacist Jonathan Walsh.

“We’re grateful that we’re seeing the population increase for the first time in generations, but that’s bringing additional pressure on our health-care system that is already under lots of pressure. So anytime you can add capacity to the health-care system, I think that’s great for New Brunswickers and everybody who’s practicing within the health care-system.”

Walsh has been an owner and pharmacist in Riverview for the past decade and says he’s used to triaging patients who come in. He says it’s all about working as a team.

“Pharmacists aren’t able to do everything and there’s a reason there are physicians and nurse practitioners. We’re all a part of the health-care team and so we’re just trying to do our little part to help New Brunswickers and it’s great that the government of New Brunswick is empowering us to do that,” he said.

Both Walsh and Drover say this is a step in the right direction for New Brunswick, but there is still more that pharmacists can help out with in the future.

While the seven new aliments fall under publicly funded care, officials say that patients will still be resposible for the cost of prescribed medication for treatment.

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