Expanding pharmacy services could help save nearly $26B: study

Expanding medical services offered at local pharmacies to help Canadians quit smoking, manage heart disease and offer flu shots could save Canada’s health care system billions of dollars, according to a new report released today by The Conference Board of Canada.

The report, entitled The Value of Expanded Pharmacy Services in Canada, forecasts that over the next 20 years the health care system could save between $2.5 billion and $25.7 billion depending on how enthusiastically Canadians adopt the new services.

“This report is good news for a cash-strapped health care system, governments, payers and ultimately all Canadians,” said Alistair Bursey, chair of the Canadian Pharmacists Association, which commissioned the study.

“While we have long understood the health benefits of pharmacist care in interventions such as smoking cessation and cardiovascular disease through past clinical practice research, these findings help to bridge the evidence gap to demonstrate the significant value Canada’s pharmacists can bring to our health care system.”

In addition to better health outcomes and economic gains, implementing these changes across the country offers a large return on investment, said the report.

The study calculated that for every dollar spent on flu shots, the direct return could be as high as $72 by 2035. For every dollar spent on helping patients quit smoking, the return could reach $9.10, and for cardiovascular disease intervention and drug management, it could reach $2.30 for every dollar spent.

Expanding pharmacy services would also improve access to health services in rural and remote communities and help better serve high-need and vulnerable populations at a reduced cost, resulting in fewer visits to doctors’ offices or overcrowded emergency rooms, the report said.

“If given the opportunity, community pharmacists could do more to help meet the growing demand for convenient, accessible, and cost-effective health care services,” said Bursey. “The infrastructure for these services already exists; now we must expand pharmacists’ scope of practice and remunerate them appropriately to provide this care across the country.”

The study assumed that the costs of the expanded services would be covered by provincial health systems. However, the reimbursement fees are set by each province and can vary widely across the country, the report said.