Hundreds of people will be affected if a pharmacy on Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside is closed. That’s according to doctors in the area who are now speaking out to keep the business open.
Pharmacist Alex Tam runs the Eastside Pharmacy, which has operated for 20 years and now has some 800 clients.
A recent provincial audit of pharmacies found shortcomings with his record keeping and concluded he owes $1.1 million to the province.
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He disputes those findings.
But as of Dec. 5th, he’s being denied enrollment in PharmaCare, the provincial drug plan.
Without that funding, he will likely be forced out of business, but Tam is vying to stay open as long as possible.
“My clients are in the worst condition, they aren’t able to get out and they need help,” says Tam. “I am the eyes and ears for all the doctors in Downtown Eastside.”
In a statement to Global News, the Ministry of Health said:
The ministry made the final decisions to refuse enrollment after careful review of those responses. All affected pharmacies had the opportunity to appeal the decision.
With files from Catherine Urquhart
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