“If people have a minor health problem, the first thing they try to do is self-treat and the first place they go in order to do that is a pharmacy”
—Paul Blanchard, Executive Director, New Brunswick Pharmacists’ Association
Authorizing pharmacists to prescribe for minor ailments could help lower high numbers of non-urgent visits to New Brunswick emergency rooms, according to the New Brunswick Pharmacists’ Association (NBPA).
More than 63% of patients visiting hospital ERs in 2011−12 had triage levels of “non-urgent” or “less urgent,” the New Brunswick Health Council revealed in its latest annual report. In recent meetings with the province’s Health Minister, Ted Flemming, the NBPA has pointed to this data as further evidence that minor-ailment prescribing authority for pharmacists would benefit patients and the broader health care system.
“We don’t know specifically how many of these non-urgent ER visits involve minor ailments, but we know anecdotally that we are talking about a significant percentage,” says Paul Blanchard, Executive Director of the NBPA. “New Brunswick pharmacists are qualified to provide the type of service that will divert some patients from over-burdened ERs and after-hours clinics.”
The province’s Health Council measures patients’ interactions with the health care system in terms of visits to physicians, clinics and hospitals, and also reports on waiting times for surgeries and medical tests. The Council, however, does not currently measure how many people with minor ailments head to their community pharmacy to seek advice and appropriate treatment, says Mr. Blanchard.
“If people have a minor health problem, the first thing they try to do is self-treat and the first place they go in order to do that is a pharmacy, where they can talk to a pharmacist without an appointment.”
Giving pharmacists the authority to write prescriptions in these cases would eliminate the need for many of these patients to go elsewhere to get treatment, he adds.
The New Brunswick Pharmaceutical Society has developed the Draft Pharmacy Act, October 2012, which proposes pharmacist prescribing for a range of minor ailments, along with other changes including regulation of pharmacy technicians. The Society is consulting health professionals on the proposals and the provincial government is also reviewing the draft legislation.
The NBPA is advocating for approval of these minor-ailment measures, as well reimbursement of pharmacists providing the service. The association points to Saskatchewan as the best model, where pharmacists are compensated for prescribing treatments for ailments ranging from allergic reactions and insect bites to diaper rash and cold sores. Pharmacists in Nova Scotia recently acquired this prescribing authority as well.