As pharmacists exercise their new prescribing powers, the B.C. government is launching a new booking system that will make it easier for patients to reach them.
The portal — the first of its kind in Canada — goes online Thursday and will be similar to the system residents use to book their COVID-19 and flu vaccinations, Health Minister Adrian Dix said Wednesday.
Patients will be able to search for available appointment times at pharmacies near them, based on their minor ailment or contraceptive needs. Walk-in appointments will remain an option at many pharmacies, as will calling ahead to schedule an appointment.
British Columbia Pharmacy Association president Chris Chiew said the system will help connect more patients to the health-care system, in communities where some services may not be easily accessible. There are more than 1,400 pharmacies across the province.
“We’re open after-hours and on weekends so patients can come to see us when and where they need the help,” Chiew said at the press conference in a downtown Vancouver London Drugs.
“In fact, on June 1 — the first day we were able to offer the (prescribing) service, we had a pharmacy have 10 patients come in after 7 p.m. for access for their minor ailments when other clinics were closed or full. We’ve also heard of patients waiting outside of the pharmacy, before the pharmacy opened on the first day. This really shows that there’s a demand out there.”
As of June 1, B.C. pharmacists could diagnose and prescribe medications for 21 minor ailments — including shingles, acne and urinary tract infections — as well as contraception. Across the province, they did 891 assessments that day.
Since then, more than 25,000 people have taken advantage of the expanded scope of practice.
Robin Rivers said she used the service for a rash and was tickled to receive a follow-up call from the pharmacy to check on her.
“For me, the biggest bonus was having the follow-up,” she told Global News. “I showed them, they examined me — I was worried I had something more serious — and they gave me the cream, told me how to use it. They called me a week later, I came in, they re-examined me and it was gone.”
Rivers is one of the hundreds of thousands of British Columbians without a family doctor and said she would typically just “endure” a minor ailment, not wanting to wait hours at a walk-in clinic or an emergency room.
Expanding powers for pharmacists is a measure that not only alleviates pressure on hospitals and clinics, but takes full advantage of the expertise of pharmacists, according to Premier David Eby.
“We’re building new hospitals across the province, we’re building new urgent primary care clinics to make sure people get services they need in their communities, but we also need to take steps today, to recognize that people need care today,” he said. “Pharmacists have a key role to play in making sure that happens.”
Penny Lahoux, a pharmacist at London Drugs, said the most common prescription requests to date include medicine for urinary tract infections, conjunctivitis, seasonal allergies, cold sores and skin rashes. Patients who have family doctors are benefitting from the service too, she added, noting that it can often take weeks to secure an appointment with one’s physician.
“From the pharmacy’s perspective, the booking system also helps us to manage our workflow so that we can open appointments for the times of day that work for our team,” she said. “We’re really looking forward to using the new system.”
The portal will be available online at www.gov.bc.ca/seeapharmacist.
Editorial note: This is a corrected story. A previous version misspelled Penny Lahoux’s surname.