| IPO speaking out |
 Independent pharmacists, struggling to survive since Ontario introduced a series of major changes to the drug system, want patients to go to bat for them with the government. On October 25, the Independent Pharmacists of Ontario (IPO) launched a public relations campaign, including newspaper advertising and in-store materials, to urge patients to contact their local MPP or the Executive Officer of Ontario's Public Health Programs to let them know that they don't want to lose access to the health services that pharmacists provide. “Independent pharmacists are small business owners and normally wouldn't undertake an advertising campaign, but we really felt we had no other choice,” says Ben Shenouda, president of IPO. “We simply cannot sustain any more losses and continue to provide the healthcare services our customers rely on.” IPO, which represents over 1,000 pharmacists across the province, has grown increasingly frustrated with the situation in Ontario since the introduction of Bill 102 in May 2006 and the subsequent implementation of the Transparent Drug System for Patients Act in October 2006. The new legislation put financial strain on many pharmacists by restricting professional allowances, lowering drug markups and, more recently, introducing a competitive agreement strategy to reduce generic drug prices. With dispensing fees rising only 89 cents over the past 15 years, many pharmacies have struggled to remain viable. According to the Ontario College of Pharmacists registry, 14% more pharmacies were sold and 20% more went out of business in 2007 over 2006. And this trend is expected to continue. Although about 43% of pharmacies are independently owned and operated in Ontario, Shenouda says that the independents' voice hasn't been heard by government. “It doesn't make any sense that the government negotiates with the Canadian Association of Chain Drug Stores (CACDS) and the Ontario Pharmacists' Association (OPA) without listening to the independent. [As a result,] the issues of the independent storeowners disappears during the discussion and our perspective is lost.” Despite being hurt by changes implemented under TDSPA, IPO insists that independent pharmacists understand that the government needs to manage costs and to get value for healthcare dollars. “I'd like to see the government open dialogue with independent pharmacy owners,” says Shenouda. “We would listen to their concerns and try to work with them to address the challenges and solve problems.” If nothing is changed, he predicts that more independents will close and pharmacy in Ontario will be dominated by big monopolies with independents crushed and disappeared. “The last survey done with Ipsos Reid shows that the people of Ontario prefer to have more variety of drug stores rather than the big chains all the way.” |
|||||||