Whistler patients seeking prescriptions for an array of medications can now access that treatment with just a single visit to their local pharmacy.
As of June 1, pharmacists in B.C. are authorized to assess and prescribe medications for 21 uncomplicated conditions like allergies, shingles, cold sores, pink eye, fungal infections, skin rashes, urinary tract infections and mild acne, in addition to contraceptives. Prior to last week, only physicians and nurse practitioners could issue prescriptions in B.C.
In Whistler, pharmacies at the resort’s Rexall locations and Shoppers Drug Mart in Whistler Village all welcome walk-in patients looking to make use of the new service, no appointment necessary, though Shoppers also invites patients to book appointments for prescription consultations online. Beginning June 29, British Columbians can also make pharmacy appointments through a provincewide online booking system.
Upon arrival, patients will “describe their symptoms to the pharmacist and the pharmacist will do a thorough assessment for them, including any potential reasons where they might not be able to prescribe and potentially would require a referral to a physician,” explained Joyce Chen, pharmacist and owner of the Whistler Village Shoppers Drug Mart. “But at least we could be the first point of contact, because we are the most accessible health-care worker.”
Pharmacists will also check patients’ medical history and, when appropriate, recommend other treatments like self-care or over-the-counter medications.
“This not only makes it easier and faster for patients to access these services, it also takes pressure off the primary-care providers and our public health-care system as a whole,” B.C. Health Minister Adrian Dix said in a release.
That’s particularly true for Whistler, where although non-profit clinic operator Whistler 360 has successfully matched hundreds of patients with a doctor in recent months, roughly half of resort residents still do not have a family physician. Whistler currently operates with six to seven full-time equivalent (FTE) practitioners, but by Whistler 360’s estimate, needs at least 14 to 16 FTEs to meet demand.
Meanwhile, on a provincewide basis, a Sept. 2022 Angus Reid poll found approximately 23 per cent of British Columbians who wanted a family doctor did not have one.
“In Whistler, because we’re so short of [general practitioners], and people want fast service—they don’t want to wait—definitely, we’re seeing a large uptake of [this new service],” said Lynette Chiu, pharmacy manager at Rexall in Marketplace, adding, “It’s just better access to health-care.”
Patients aren’t obligated to fill their prescription at the same pharmacy they visit for the consultation, Chiu pointed out.
The new pharmacy service is covered for B.C. residents with a Personal Health Number, but it also makes it easier—and more affordable—for out-of-province visitors seeking care for health issues that arise during their holiday. Chen said a visit to her pharmacy costs all out-of-province patients $22.50, compared to the $70 consultation fee for Canadian citizens without provincial coverage that’s listed on the Whistler Medical Clinic’s website, or the $290 that service costs non-resident visitors. None of those figures include the cost of any medications prescribed.
Pharmacists’ new capabilities “really will lessen the burden on the doctors here so that they can focus more on the more serious conditions,” Chen said.
The province announced the expansion of pharmacy services last fall, when it also began permitting pharmacists to adapt and renew prescriptions for a wider range of drugs and conditions, and administer a longer list of drugs by injection. On April 1 of this year, B.C. also made it free for patients covered by MSP to access prescription birth control options like oral hormone pills, contraceptive shots, hormonal and copper intrauterine devices, subdermal implants, and Plan B, commonly known as the morning-after pill. Pharmacists can now write prescriptions for those medications, as well as fill them.
“Doctors are specialized in diagnosis. If a patient comes to us and they know specifically what they have, then it’s easy for us to recommend a treatment, because we’re more medication experts,” Chen explained.
“Because we do learn specifically about medications, part of our studies and training also has to do with minor ailments—we have a whole course on it in school they have us go through. Plus, patients come in all the time asking for a recommendation for simple things, and we do make recommendations every day for those things,” she continued.
“A lot of times patients will come in, we’ll tell them ‘OK, I think you need to go see a doctor because we can’t prescribe it, but here’s the name of [the medication] you should ask the doctor to prescribe.’ Then they’ll have to go see a doctor, and come back with a prescription for exactly what we recommended. So this is minimizing an extra step.”
When it comes to new pharmacy services, Whistler's Shoppers Drug Mart also installed a finger-prick machine about six months ago the public can use to measure their A1C, or blood sugar level, and cholesterol profile without needing a lab requisition, Chen added.
"Within 20 minutes, the results show up, and you get a printout copy you can take to your doctor," she explained. Chen said healthy adults older than 50 should test for those markers every three to five years, but especially for diabetic patients who need to measure their A1C level every few months, "this could be a good access point for you to instead of going to a LifeLabs," she explained. "Instead of taking out test tubes of blood, we're just poking your finger."
