By Sheldon Spackman

Local pharmacists march to protest new government funding framework

Apr 19, 2018 | 2:20 PM

A grassroots group of roughly three dozen pharmacists marched through downtown Red Deer on Thursday to protest a new pharmacy funding framework announced by the Alberta government on February 28.

The march was held in conjunction with others taking place throughout the province, including in Calgary, Edmonton, Lethbridge and Medicine Hat.

According to the Alberta Health website, the new funding framework aims to save Albertans money on out-of-pocket prescription costs. Highlights include a reduction in dispensing fees from $12.30 to $12.15 with reimbursement for daily dispensing and other frequent dispensing changing from having no limit to daily dispensing of three fees per day, per patient. Other frequent dispensing such as 2 – 27 day supplies will now be two fees per drug, per 28 days per patient. No limits will be put on opioid dependence treatments.

Pharmacists with additional prescribing authority will no longer be paid more than pharmacists without that authority for providing a patient with a comprehensive annual care plan, standard medication management assessment or follow up. Those follow-ups will be capped.

A new service will be added, however, an assessment to ensure continuity of care in the event of a declaration of a state of emergency, which will come with a fee of $20 starting May 17 when most of the new pharmacy funding framework changes takes effect.

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Pharmacists will also have the authority to administer more publicly funded vaccines, which means the fee for that will be reduced from $20 to 13.

Finally, starting April 1, 2019, at least 10 per cent of government funding to pharmacies will be withheld each quarter to be used to address any pharmacy compensation budget shortfalls. According to the Alberta Health website, that percentage can increase if required, to meet budget targets. If expenditures are less than budget, the holdback funds will be redistributed to pharmacies.

Jennifer Fookes is a Registered Pharmacist in Alberta and owns Mortar and Pesto Pharmacy in Red Deer. She says although there is great concern for pharmacists and their future with these upcoming changes, patient care she adds is their number one concern.

“The overall pharmacy budget has just received a massive cut of $150 million for the services that every day Albertans receive in pharmacies,” explains Fookes. “So that could be consultations on an unplanned pregnancy, that could be a consultation on a senior who has fallen, that could be somebody who cannot get into their doctor in time but whose blood pressure is out of control despite being compliant with their medication, that could be somebody who has lost their medication or had it stolen and needs to have that assessment made.

“That could be someone requiring a vaccination,” continues Fookes. “That could be somebody who is from out of country, an emergency service provided due to natural disaster. There’s a lot of different things, the scope is broad.”

Fookes is also concerned about new graduates from both the Pharmacy Technician program at RDC and U of A and their career prospects as a result of these pending pharmacy funding changes.

“We have students already expressing concern that they’re the most highly trained pharmacists in Canada and yet their job prospects are bleak,” laments Fookes. “In a group of five pharmacists that we sat down with, two of them were uncertain about whether they would have positions at the end of the week, so these cuts are real and they’re massive.”

Fookes concludes it would have been beneficial for government to consult with the Pharmacists Association of Alberta before moving ahead with the funding framework changes.