We are asking you to put your full support behind the team that’s meeting with the Government on your behalf. As we reach certain milestones we will update you. Thank you for your continued support.

Please discontinue these activities in your store.

As we reach certain milestones we will update you. Thank you for your continued support.

Alberta pharmacy agreement inked

Written by Barbara Kermode-Scott on January 29, 2010

Collaboration has proven key in negotiating a good deal for Alberta’s pharmacists, pharmacies, public, patients and provincial government, argues Margaret Wing, acting CEO of the Alberta Pharmacists’ Association (RxA).

“This is a great story,” said Wing in response to the Alberta government’s January 28 announcement of a new pharmacy funding and services model agreement for the province. “We feel that the collaborative approach is what has helped us achieve this agreement… Other provinces need to learn from what Alberta did that collaboration is a great path. It’s better than fighting!”

In October, 2009, a joint Ministry-pharmacy transition team was established in Alberta to seek a common approach to addressing prescription drug costs, rising drug utilization, and the need to maintain a solid economic foundation for community pharmacies. The goal was to identify and implement a sustainable, long-term model for pharmacy services and compensation, and to address transition issues arising from phase two of the Alberta Pharmaceutical Strategy. This group included representatives from RxA, the Canadian Association of Chain Drug Stores (CACDS) and Alberta Health and Wellness. Together, RxA and CACDS memberships represent more than 90% of Alberta community pharmacies, says Wing.

Phase 2 of Alberta’s provincial pharmaceutical strategy is a win-win, suggests Wing. Patients will benefit as they will have access to lower priced generic drugs and a wide array of pharmacy services. Pharmacies win as they will have stable, predictable, sustainable funding over the coming years, and the government wins as they will reduce rising prescription drug costs.

“The government showed real leadership on a challenging issue,” said CACDS chair Mark Dickson. “The need to modernize pharmacy funding and services is not unique to Alberta. But the solution and co-operative nature of our discussions show that this province understands the growing importance of community pharmacy care, and that the government wanted to build a system that would serve Albertans well over the long-term.”

On April 1, the price of currently available or existing generic drugs will be reduced from 75% to 56% of the price of comparable brand name drugs.

The Alberta Government anticipates saving about $100 million through reduced new and existing generic drug prices as well as through other related cost saving initiatives contained in the pharmaceutical strategy.

Under the new agreement, Alberta Pharmacies will have a new remuneration model that goes beyond fee for service to compensate pharmacists for additional services they offer, such as patient consultations, medication reviews and immunizations.
The government is providing $75 million over three years to help pharmacies move to the new compensation model. Through the transitional allowance government will provide additional payments to pharmacies on top of their current $10.93 dispensing fee for prescriptions less than $75:

• $3 per prescription ($13.93) from April 1, 2010 through March 31, 2011
• $2 per prescription ($12.93) from April 1, 2011 through March 31, 2012
• $1 per prescription ($11.93) from April 1, 2012 through March 31, 2013

Rural and remote pharmacies will be eligible for additional funding based on criteria such as proximity to an urban centre and number of pharmacies in the community. The Alberta Government has established a $5 million fund for this purpose.The new payment model will be announced later this year after a pilot project has been completed and evaluated.

More information regarding Alberta’s Pharmaceutical Strategy can be found at:
www.health.alberta.ca/initiatives/pharmaceutical-strategy-2.html

In its public and media relations, the Ontario government is positioning community pharmacy funding cuts as part of a “battle” with “big drug chains”. Briefed by an Ontario government official, Adam Radwanski of the Globe and Mail wrote on December 13, 2009:

The government’s challenge will be to convince Ontarians that its quarrel isn’t with pharmacists, but the faceless corporations they work for.

The Facts

The “faceless corporations” pharmacists work for in Ontario are mostly individual entrepreneurs – pharmacists who own and operate their own stores.

• 51% of Ontario pharmacies are owner-operated small businesses.
• These are pure independents and independents that purchase together under a “banner.”
• 20% of Ontario pharmacies are owner-operated franchises – also small businesses responsible for their own profit and loss.
• Only 29% of Ontario pharmacies are owned by drug store chains.

The Bottom Line

The Ontario government would like the public to believe that funding cuts would only affect “big chains” and “faceless corporations”. But that’s not the truth.

Most Ontario pharmacies are owner-operated small businesses. Funding cuts to community pharmacies would have a direct and severe impact on these small businesses that deliver neighbourhood health care.

The Orillia Packet and Times reports on the Ontario government’s proposed cuts to community pharmacy in this story titled “Bitter Pill: Generic drug company rebates may be cut.”

Simcoe North MPP Garfield Dunlop says many pharmacy owners and their customers have called his office with the same concerns.

“This will definitely have a negative impact on the pharmacies,” he said. “In a lot of cases, their income and the viability of their business is at stake.”

When the government is back in the legislature on Feb. 16, this will be one of many priorities, Dunlop said.

Dunlop says he worries about small-town pharmacies without the customer base to sustain them.

Pharmacy Endorses Alberta’s New Funding and Services Plan

Collaborative Approach Will Build Drug System That Works for Patients, Pharmacies, Government

EDMONTON, Jan. 28 /CNW/ – The Alberta Pharmacists’ Association (RxA) and the Canadian Association of Chain Drug Stores (CACDS) stated that they strongly support the new pharmacy funding and services model agreement announced today by Alberta Health and Wellness (AHW).

The agreement, achieved over several months of discussions between pharmacy and the government, will help meet a number of key objectives shared by both parties:

    - Protecting and enhancing pharmacy services for Albertans
    - Reducing generic drug costs
    - Maintaining economic viability and innovation among community
      pharmacies

“We have to commend the Minister of Health and Wellness and his officials for their commitment to real dialogue and the search for innovative solutions that work for Alberta,” said Margaret Wing, Acting CEO of RxA. “They ensured broad pharmacy representation in the talks, and that the focus was on creating a stable, sustainable new model.”

In October, 2009, a joint Ministry-pharmacy Transition Team, including representatives from RxA, CACDS and AHW, was established to seek a common approach to addressing prescription drug costs, rising drug utilization, and the need to maintain a solid economic foundation for community pharmacies. The goal was to identify and implement a sustainable, long-term model for pharmacy services and compensation, and to address transition issues arising from phase two of the Alberta Pharmaceutical Strategy.

The Minster’s announcement on generic drug pricing ensures that patients will continue to have access to the wide array of pharmacy services they depend on, and pharmacies will have stable, predictable funding while transitioning over the next three years.

“The government showed real leadership on a challenging issue,” said Mark Dickson, Chair of CACDS. “The need to modernize pharmacy funding and services is not unique to Alberta. But the solution and co-operative nature of our discussions show that this province understands the growing importance of community pharmacy care, and that the government wanted to build a system that would serve Albertans well over the long-term.”

The new framework marks the beginning of a transition period for pharmacists and their patients. As part of the agreement:

    - Pharmacies will be funded under a new model for pharmacy services

      The new model will go beyond fee for service for dispensing activities
      and will compensate pharmacists for spending more time advising
      patients and other health professionals about effective medication use.
      This will build on the foundation of traditional dispensing services,
      but will also make better use of the full scope of pharmacists'
      professional knowledge and skills, to protect patients' health and
      secure savings to the health care system.

    - A detailed implementation plan will be developed

      The Ministry and pharmacy will work together to ensure smooth
      transition to a new pharmacy practice model covering compensation,
      technology, regulatory and pharmacy workforce training.

    - A phased approach to support practice change

      To ensure the continued economic viability of community pharmacies, a
      transitional allowance will be provided to help pharmacies move to a
      new compensation model.

“We feel we’ve reached a solution that works for patients, pharmacies and the government, and that will contribute significantly to our shared efforts to control overall health care costs,” said Margaret Wing.

RxA is a voluntary association formed to represent the professional and economic interests of pharmacy and pharmacists across Alberta. Since 2000, it has been our goal to promote pharmacists as Alberta’s medication experts – accessible, knowledgeable and trusted.

CACDS is the national association that represents the community pharmacy industry in Canada. The retail members of CACDS are traditional chain and banner drug stores, grocery chains and mass merchandisers with pharmacies. In Alberta, more than 700 pharmacies are CACDS chain or banner stores. CACDS associate members include product and service suppliers to the drug store industry, including manufacturers of pharmaceuticals, over-the-counter remedies and medical devices, health and beauty aids, consumer packaged goods and general merchandise, wholesalers and distributors, media, marketing and research companies, among others.

Together, RxA and CACDS memberships represent more than 90% of Alberta community pharmacies.

For further information: or to schedule an interview, please contact: Cynthia Rousseau, Director of Communications, Alberta Pharmacists’ Association (RxA), (780) 990-0326, ext. 25

I am in complete agreement with Mr. Murgic’s concerns over the pending threats to community pharmacy. There is no greater fulfilment than that obtained through collaboration with patients, empowering them to achieve their optimal health outcomes.

As pharmacists, we already feel pressured to focus on efficiency and speedy service. What is lost here, however, is the value of each patient as an individual.

We are trained to help address each individual’s concerns by actively listening to them and engaging them in their own care. Ultimately, this ought to reduce the workload on physicians, with pharmacists taking up the brunt of education of patients.

Ideally, our future will encompass a model where a patient-centred team of collaborators, including professionals from all disciplines, is standard. With proposed cutbacks, this model will be impossible.

It is sad to imagine that my career could become strictly volume-focused, where viability will be strictly dependent on the number of prescriptions filled. Reductions in staff will be imminent and time spent with patients will be diminished, if not gone completely.

I am determined to prevent this from occurring. I hope that the government can see how passionate we are about this issue.

We are professionals but even more so, we are individuals, too. Just like our patients, just like the members of Parliament. We merely want to help people but we need Ontario’s support to ensure this can happen.