Allowing pharmacists to do more immediately improves access to health care, reduces strain elsewhere in system

If the Manitoba government is serious about improving access to primary care, there is one reform that should be at the very top of its to-do list.

Pharmacists Manitoba has renewed its call for the province to significantly expand pharmacists’ scope of practice, bringing the Manitoba closer to the standards that already exist across much of Canada. The organization is urging the government to approve a broader list of common ailments and services pharmacists are trained to assess and treat.

It’s difficult to think of a more obvious health-care reform that would deliver immediate benefits to patients while helping relieve pressure throughout the health-care system.

The numbers alone make the case.

By even the most conservative estimate, about 130,000 Manitobans lack access to a family doctor or other primary-care provider. Some estimates place that figure closer to 225,000.

Whatever the true number may be, it’s far too high.

Thousands of Manitobans struggle to access timely medical care for routine health concerns. Many end up waiting days or weeks for appointments. Others seek care in walk-in clinics that are already stretched to capacity. Some wind up in emergency departments for conditions that could have been addressed elsewhere.

Governments at every level talk endlessly about improving access to primary care. Manitoba’s NDP government has made that a central part of its health-care agenda.

If expanding primary-care access is truly the goal, it makes little sense to leave one of the province’s most accessible groups of health professionals sitting on the sidelines.

Manitoba pharmacists are currently authorized to assess and prescribe treatment for just 14 common ailments.

That may sound reasonable until it is compared to the rest of the country.

In Saskatchewan, pharmacists can assess and prescribe for 41 common ailments. In Alberta, the number is 58.

Manitoba is not slightly behind its neighbours. It is dramatically behind.

The obvious question is why.

Pharmacists in Manitoba receive extensive education and training. They possess the skills necessary to assess and manage many common conditions that routinely send people searching for appointments with doctors or nurse practitioners.

Pharmacists Manitoba has identified 41 common ailments and services that its members could begin providing immediately if the province approved the necessary changes and public funding.

That means a person dealing with a cold sore, symptoms of strep throat or a variety of other straightforward health concerns could receive care at a neighbourhood pharmacy instead of joining a long queue elsewhere in the system.

That is not some radical concept. It’s already happening across much of Canada.

Patients in other provinces benefit from faster access to care. Physicians are able to focus more of their time on complex medical cases. Hospitals and emergency departments face less pressure.

Everyone benefits.

The beauty of this reform is that Manitoba doesn’t need to build new facilities, hire thousands of additional workers or spend years developing new programs.

The infrastructure already exists.

More than 1,700 pharmacists work in roughly 500 pharmacies located in 90 communities throughout the province. Collectively, they assist about 50,000 Manitobans every day.

Many pharmacies operate during evenings and weekends when other health-care options may be limited. They are often the most accessible point of entry into the health-care system, particularly in smaller communities.

Why wouldn’t the province want to maximize that resource?

The government’s reluctance becomes even harder to understand when considering another growing concern: retaining health-care professionals.

Manitoba already faces shortages across multiple areas of health care. Yet the province continues to impose restrictions that make it less attractive for pharmacists to build careers here.

Recent survey results paint a troubling picture.

Nearly two-thirds of pharmacy students are considering leaving Manitoba because they cannot fully use their training under the province’s restrictive rules. More than half of recent graduates are considering relocating for the same reason, while some have already signed contracts elsewhere.

That should set off alarm bells in government.

Manitoba taxpayers help support the education and training of these professionals. Universities and colleges prepare them for modern pharmacy practice. Then, once they graduate, the province limits what they can actually do.

Other provinces are more than happy to take advantage.

Expanding pharmacists’ scope of practice will not solve every challenge facing Manitoba’s health-care system. No single reform can.

The province still needs more family physicians. It still needs more nurse practitioners. It still needs to address emergency-room pressures and surgical backlogs.

But expanding pharmacists’ responsibilities is one of those rare reforms that can deliver meaningful improvements relatively quickly and at comparatively low cost.

Every patient who receives care from a pharmacist is one less patient searching for a physician appointment. Every common ailment treated in a pharmacy reduces pressure elsewhere in the system.

Those gains add up.

Expanding pharmacists’ scope of practice is one of the simplest and most practical steps available to improve primary-care access.

The province should get on with it.