Ontarians Trust Pharmacists Most for Prescription Drug Info, Survey Shows

- Government Seen as Putting Money before Patient Care -

Mississauga, ON, Sept 22, 2008 – Ontarians trust their pharmacists, as a source of information about prescription drugs, more than they trust doctors, nurses, government or drug manufacturers, an Ipsos Reid survey released today showed. In fact, 94% say that they trust pharmacists more than the government on issues relating to prescription drugs.

The survey of 1,010 respondents across Ontario, conducted August 29 to September 3, also showed that:

• --> 97% agree that they trust their pharmacist to provide them with full information about the prescription drugs they are taking;
• --> 85% of Ontarians agree that pharmacists put the health of patients before economic gain;
• --> however, 86% agree that Ontario’s Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care is more concerned with containing costs than quality healthcare; and,
• -->   only 47% trust drug manufacturers to provide them with full information about the prescription drugs they are taking.

“We know that pharmacists are the community healthcare professionals that Ontarians turn to first for health care advice, and we are pleased that the Ipsos Reid survey supports that. In fact, for many Ontarians, their local independent pharmacist is the health care provider they see most often, and spend the most time with,” said Ben Shenouda, President, Independent Pharmacists of Ontario (IPO).

The survey also showed that when it comes to choosing which drugs are available in pharmacies, there is a large public distrust of governments and drug manufacturers. Many more Ontarians believe that doctors (41%), pharmacists (37%), researchers and scientists (14%) should be responsible for making this decision rather than government (7%) or drug manufacturers (2%).

 “It’s clear that the public has the greatest trust in those who they see as having their health care as a top-most concern, while they have the least trust in those they see as putting costs and profits ahead of quality care,” Shenouda said.