What is happening to Pharmacy and where is the Board? Ask Minister Kennedy!

The Newfoundland and Labrador Pharmacy Board is the self-regulating body for pharmacy in our province. As you have probably heard in the news - they are the body that monitors both the profession and the operations of pharmacies and may hold disciplinary hearings and issue professional sanctions and/or remove a license of either a pharmacist or pharmacy.

By the same token they should also be there to protect their profession - in the interest of public safety and health - in the same manner the College of Physicians and Surgeons do for Physicians. But the NLPB is no match - and it is going to cost everybody in the end.

The Pharmacy Board as is the problem with the PANL is inundated with big corporate agendas - something which the College does not have to deal with. This is because you do not have to be a pharmacist to own a pharmacy. The Board is an elected body and as such staff pharmacists who work for the big conglomerates like Wal-Mart and Shopper's Drug Mart can get elected and form part of a decision making process. This is the beginning of the problem. Let's say it's in the best interests of the large companies to increase the scope of practice of a pharmacy technician - in order that they may reduce the number of pharmacists needed - and thereby reduce their costs - what will there staff have to represent in a committee meeting? That's the name of the game for publicly traded companies - lower costs - increase shareholder value. Is this however the model that best serves the public? The answer is no.

There are a number of changes going on in Canada and every one of them are causing the destruction of the profession of pharmacy including the value of these highly qualified health care experts. You see as I write today the multinational retail giants - Shoppers, Lawtons, Wal-Mart and Costco are designing, lobbying, and controlling the development of policy surrounding the profession - in order that they maximize profits. Pharmacists are being replaced by ATM's, Licensed Practical Nurses, and pharmacy technicians. In Ontario - where the generic drug pricing changes were introduced - these regressive policies are in full swing. Now where a rural pharmacy used to stand - an ATM will move in; or if a rural community no longer has access to an independent pharmacy (due to revenue loss) an LPN can now dispense, sell, and compound prescription drugs. Further where the ratio of pharmacists to pharmacy technicians was 1:2 is now becoming 1:6 if there are any limits at all. Better yet the pharmacy technicians primarily needed in large numbers by the heavy volume drugstores are now being encouraged by these chains to take control by supporting their efforts to organize and advocate. This all comes at as cost to pharmacists.

The reports are fairly common in Ontario now, pharmacy students are having a difficult time getting a placement in drugstores in order that they may graduate - and when they do the salaries now being offered are 1/3 to 1/2 what they used to be. The public relations spin by the big drugstore chains is that now pharmacists are going to be able to do more of what they are trained to do - by having techs take care of the less significant tasks. The spin goes on to say pharmacists will be paid for med-checks,  injections, and counselling. The pharmacist is paid by their employer - they do not receive direct payment for their increased scope of practice - in fact they are now being paid less for doing more. Meanwhile the corporation that employs them bring in more cash with a cheaper payroll.

Any reasonably minded person would ask - if an LPN or an ATM or a pharmacy technician can do the job - what is a pharmacist for? A large corporate drugstore or retail chain will examine the human resources necessary to pump out prescription drugs and adjust their staff needs accordingly. So if a pharmacist is restricted to counselling and medication checks and if the government only pays the corporation a set fee to do those tasks - the pharmacists salaries will actually go down. The money making volume can now be completed by techs and machines.

Is this good for the public? No it is not. The pharmacist should as with all experts in health care being enjoying more stability in the workforce and expect professional salaries for the investment they made in their education. For pharmacists - sadly - the opposite is true. The large corporations in Ontario are now reportedly reducing hours, salaries, and benefits for pharmacists. Schools of Pharmacy in universities are now experiencing a difficulty in achieving placements for their students. At the rate things are going these Schools will have to downsize to adjust to the new market reality. Ironically this is happening at a time when Memorial's School of Pharmacy is looking to expand with new facilities and more seats. If one looks at the changes now occurring in Ontario and the fact the Minister Jerome Kennedy is determined to follow that model - our School of Pharmacy could actually be downsized if not eliminated altogether.

So back to the Newfoundland and Labrador Pharmacy Board - The Executive Committee is comprised of 2 pharmacists from the School of Pharmacy and 2 pharmacists from Shopper's Drug Mart. Of nine Board members only 1 is an independent pharmacy owner.

The Chair of all the Professional Practice Committee and sub-committees is Sandra Carey. Ms Carey is a pharmacist and an employee of the Health Initiative Inc. in Toronto which is an agency of McCann Healthcare Worldwide which is a subsidiary of Interpublic Inc. This conglomerate is a global provider of advertising and marketing services. At the most basic level - it's the attempted control of market share. When it comes to health care and pharmacy - who would want such control of market share? With 41,000 employess how much independent influence does Ms. Carey have?

This big corporate agenda is going after all policies related to pharmaceuticals. The bigwigs of retail pharmacy - the giant chains - are lobbying governments to achieve what's best for their shareholders - not what's best for you and I.

Are they succeeding? Well Minister Kennedy could be the poster boy for this initiative - Shopper's Drug Mart is definitely controlling the development of pharmacy policy. So far they have managed to have their own private line of prescription drugs listed on the provincial formulary, they have managed to have the Department of Health turn a blind eye to Seniors rights in personal care homes, and they have managed to keep independent pharmacy out of the Minister's office. They have lobbied directly, and indirectly at $500 a plate political dinners.

As for the Pharmacy Board - it is becoming obvious that they too are turning a blind eye when the public interest is being affected. You can bet your last dollar that the College of Physicians and Surgeons would long since have a like problem dealt with.