Sundre pharmacies are closing their doors and participating in a provincewide pharmacist rally from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Thursday.
The rally is in opposition to the provincial budget cuts to front-line health-care workers, which Sundre Pharmasave manager Tim Fluet and Sundre Pharmachoice manager Chris Aingworth say will negatively affect both pharmacies and the services they offer to Albertans.
“Across the province, pharmacists are very concerned about the budget cuts that came through earlier last month,” said Fluet.
“We want people to be aware of how these cuts to pharmacy will affect their service and the amount of things that pharmacies can do for them down the road.”
Both managers will be out front of the stores on Thursday to educate people on the situation, he said.
“We want to emphasize that as pharmacists and as health-care providers we're concerned about the care of our patients and our customers,” he explained.
“This is a step backwards and we're concerned about the effects it will have on the public with regards to keeping them healthy.”
He said for the last 22 years there has been no change in professional fees.
“We've been able to make ends meet through generic funding and now that they've cut that out, we're left with a fee structure that's been the same for 22 years, and as a result there will be some shortfalls on what we can provide,” he said.
“Many pharmacies are worried that they won't be able to stay open because the margins just aren't there for pharmacy based on these cuts.”
Aingworth said he is concerned about drug supply.
“The generic companies have indicated in their way that they just can't manage at this lower price,” he said.
“If it goes forward we might not be able to get certain drugs and that's a big worry for me.”
Surrounding communities are participating in the pharmacist rally as well, as Didsbury and Carstairs Pharmasave owner Jody Keller and Didsbury Value Drug Mart owner Brad Blatz are in the same boat.
These cuts may mean minimal one-on-one time with pharmacists, drug shortages and longer wait times, said Keller.
Pharmacies across Alberta support lower prices for all Albertans, he said.
However, in order to ensure the sustainability of patient care by pharmacists, savings through generic price changes must be reinvested in pharmacies, he noted.
"What it means to us is that services that were provided basically for free (in the past), we have to start looking at being sustainable, and we may have to look at charging for,” said Keller.
The announcement of cuts from the government was made without consultation with the RxA, (the Alberta Pharmacists' Association) and was a complete surprise to pharmacy owners and staff across the province, he added.
Keller supports pharmacists providing more services, such as medication reviews, providing injections and additional prescribing by pharmacists to ease the pressure on the health-care system.
However, the government would have the public believe this can all be achieved immediately and without a reasonable transition time, he said.
“This change, coupled with an underfunded model, means pharmacists will not be able to provide the level of care that Albertans have become accustomed to. The health system will suffer as patient needs are off-loaded, and their needs may go unmet,” he noted.
The average cost to fill a prescription has been shown in many studies to be $14 to $15, whereas the Didsbury and Carstairs Pharmasaves only make an average of $10.22, he said.
The loss on filling a prescription, coupled with the dramatic reduction in indirect funding - also known as generic rebates - will affect pharmacies across the province, he said.
“You do the math...It's a hard enough time in small towns with the larger box stores 10 minutes away, when they promise lower pricing and they can encompass that in a grocery environment…and they can make up the margin on that.
“We provide personalized, high-quality, highly-accessible service in our local communities, and we're going to struggle to provide the same level of service because something will have to give. That's essentially what we're looking at,” he added.
He wanted to clarify that the rallies are not about lashing out at the government.
“This is about our genuine concern for looking after the residents of our communities and all the services that we provide and to be compensated fairly.”
“We're going to fight to stay in business, there's no doubt about that…of course we're going to ensure we provide these services, but the funding is going to have to come from somewhere.”
Fluet and Aingworth invite Sundre residents to attend the rally outside of their stores on Thursday, to gain information on how these changes will affect them.
