NEWS RELEASE
March 4-10 2012 PHARMACISTS’ AWARENESS WEEK – CHALLENGES
AND RECOGNITION
For Immediate Release –
St. John’s 02/03 2012
The Council
of Independent Community Pharmacy Owners is pleased to support Pharmacists’
Awareness Week with our valued employees.
Each of our
member corporations recognizes the valued contribution of pharmacists in our
society. Through progressive and supportive employee and employer relationships
our businesses are proud of the services we provide to people, neighbourhoods
and communities.
The
pharmacist continues to be one of the most trusted professions and independent
pharmacy one of the most trusted businesses. This week celebrates the work a
pharmacist does whether as an employee of government, the University,
hospitals, Centre for Health Information, or of the private sector. Our
corporate members will continue to work toward providing a stable workplace for
our professional staff. Our members companies continue to lobby government for
medication management programs that allow our communities to avail of
preventative and stabilization consults that our employees are fully qualified
to do.
Executive Director,
Sue Kelland-Dyer says, “The scope of
practice of Newfoundland and Labrador pharmacists is lagging behind many other
provinces in Canada. The CICPO encourages the Newfoundland and Labrador
Pharmacy Board (NLPB) and the employee representative – the Pharmacists’
Association of Newfoundland and Labrador (PANL) to work diligently to correct
this inequity being experienced by our employees.”
The CICPO
also encourages the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador to use this week to
reflect on policy choices which may diminish significantly the salaries and
benefits for this profession and eliminate the opportunities found in the
private sector to deliver additional and advanced medication programs that help
to ensure compliance, best use of prescription drugs, and best patient
outcomes.
“The demographics of our province
show that chronic disease management will become a real budgetary challenge
over the coming decade. One of the only real ways to curb the anticipated
explosion of prescription drug use is through an expanded scope of practice for
pharmacists employed by private sector community pharmacies” adds Kelland-Dyer
The Council
is concerned that significant cuts to pharmacy revenues will achieve several
undesirable outcomes; a reduction in employment opportunities for these
professionals, a reduction in a pharmacist’s wages, a reduction in hours of
operation, and the elimination of all non-essential services.
Evidence is
available in other provinces - where pharmacy revenues have been reduced – that
these unanticipated consequences are already occurring. The splintered
representation of pharmacists through Allied Health, MUNFA, and PANL may be inadvertently
acting to thwart the protection of these essential employees and against
finding an equitable solution.
The CICPO is
willing to work with other employers such as government, hospital boards, and
the university to achieve an equitable benefits and salary package and further
willing to work with government to maximize the services our corporations can
deliver to the people of Newfoundland and Labrador.
The CICPO
also encourages the government to review plans to examine emergency room
wait-times. Kelland-Dyer states, “Minister
Susan Sullivan missed a very important component in the announced study – the
Minister missed pharmacists and pharmacies. It is well established that between
10-20 per cent of emergency room visits are due to drug interactions,
medication compliance, and the inability for patients to get the drugs they are
prescribed in a timely fashion.”
Kelland-Dyer
concludes, “Our businesses employ a
large number of the pharmacists practicing in our province and want to take
this opportunity to recognize their service and assure them that as employers
we are fighting to protect not only the workplace but also their jobs and the
services they deliver to our customers.”
-30-
No comments:
Post a Comment