| IPO Letter to Helen Stevenson |
Helen Stevenson Dear Ms. Stevenson, We read with interest your Letter to the Editor in today’s edition of the Guelph Mercury. On behalf of the Independent Pharmacists Association of Ontario, I would like to respond to that letter and clarify some of the issues discussed. Though the MedsCheck program is meant to compensate pharmacists for professional services we provide, it actually costs us. The MedsCheck program was developed to reimburse pharmacists for other losses we sustained as a result of Bill 102. However, the cost of preparing for a MedsCheck, completing the appointment, filling out the necessary paperwork, and paying a pharmacist to cover the counter costs more than the $50 compensation, so the program cannot begin to make up for other losses. For this reason, the MedsCheck program cannot be called a success. In response to your statement that 137 more pharmacies have opened in Ontario since June 2006, I would like to point out that though Bill 102 was passed in June 2006, it did not come into effect until April 2007. As a result, some of these pharmacies opened before the impacts of the bill had been felt by community pharmacies. In my Letter to the Editor that also appeared in today’s Guelph Mercury, I stated that 20 per cent more pharmacies went out of business in 2007 than in 2006. Based on feedback from our members, and what we’ve seen in our own communities, we expect the number of closures and sales of independent pharmacies to chain stores to increase noticeably in 2008. Lastly, you stated the new system has achieved $260 million in savings. While the IPO is supportive of greater efficiency and savings in Ontario’s drug system, these savings have come from the bottom line of Ontario’s pharmacies. These savings should not be celebrated when they undermine the ability of small independent pharmacies to provide the healthcare services that our patients rely on. Sincerely,
Ben Shenouda |
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