With every one in five British Columbians without a family doctor, the BC Pharmacy Associations is urging the government to expand the scope of work of pharmacists across the province to give them the ability to prescribe patients medication for minor ailments.

Annette Robinson, the vice chair of the Canadian Pharmacy Association and board chair of the BC Pharmacy Association says expanding the scope of pharmacists in the province could help relieve pressure on the already stressed BC healthcare system.

“We have nearly 1,300 pharmacies in nearly every single community in the province and these pharmacies and pharmacy teams are open most often seven days a week, so we know we are easily accessible.”

Additionally, Robinson says a study completed in 2018 alluded that community pharmacists see their patients anywhere between 1.5 to 10 times more frequently than their primary care physician.

A statistic she suggests skyrocketed during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Over the past two years when patients couldn’t get in and see their doctors in person, we saw patients calling on their pharmacists to answer questions and fill gaps in care.”

Currently, Robinson says pharmacists in BC can adapt most prescriptions for patients, however she notes those prescriptions are only valid for up to a year.

She suggests it’s now time pharmacists in BC have a scope of practice similar to what is seen across the country.

She explains that pharmacists in all provinces except BC and Ontario can prescribe medications for minor ailments. With Ontario set to follow suit in the new year, Robinson says it’s time for BC to do so as well.

“We need a national scope of practice for pharmacists, I call this harmonizing the scope, just like the doctors do,” adds Robinson.

“So if you go to the doctor in Nova Scotia or Ontario, you will be able to treat for conditions the same way that a doctor in BC would. So it would make sense this would be the same for pharmacists so the same way that if you’re in BC, Alberta, Ontario or New Brunswick you know that you can get the same kinds of services for a minor ailment.”