After spending the first half of 2013 fighting and lobbying the provincial government following substantial cuts to the pharmacy industry in the 2013 provincial budget, local business owners and operators are still unsure of what the future holds, even after a new compensation deal was agreed between the province and the Alberta Pharmacists Association (APA) in October.
Back in March, local drug store owners Paul Tellier and PJ Davey told of their shock and surprise at the near $90 million cuts to various funding initiatives and grants hundreds of pharmacies throughout the province relied on to keep their businesses afloat.
The most notable change implemented by the province was the decision to significantly reduce the cost of generic drugs, with pharmacists across the province expected to swallow the six-figure losses.
In April, Tellier, owner of Tellier's Value Drug Mart in Bonnyville, said he felt “blindsided” by the move, while Davey, owner of Davey's Pharmasave in Bonnyville, labeled the move “draconian” and criticized the province for thrusting the changes upon pharmacists with very little warning.
“I think the hardest part for pharmacies is that we didn't see these cuts coming, we didn't see them coming at all,” Davey said in April.
Following much lobbying over the spring and summer months, it seems the province finally caved in October, after coming to an agreement with Blue Cross and the APA for a new compensation package for Alberta pharmacists. The new deal, should it be ratified, would see dispensing fees, which have not seen a major increase in two decades, upped to around $12.30 from an average of about $11.80. Pharmacists will also be paid to counsel diabetics and assists people who want to quit smoking.
Alberta's Minister of Health Fred Horne said the deal would offer some stability to the province's 3,900 pharmacists, as well as provide more options for patient care moving forward.
“What this (new package) does is expand the professional services that we now pay pharmacists to do in Alberta,” Horne said in October. “We want pharmacists to have a sense of stability. They are running businesses, but at the same time, we've got a duty to our taxpayers to make sure the drugs remain affordable.”
The move had been branded “confusing” by some from the pharmacy sector, with Tellier saying he wasn't exactly sure what the announced changes would do for his business.
“There has been a bunch of announced changes, which I suppose shows progress is being made, but as of now I have no idea what the impact of those changes are going to be,” Tellier said. “There hasn't been a set answer provided as to what exactly is going on right now – they've told us they're redoing things and new announcements and new agreements are coming in, but the impact is not measurable at this time.”
He added, “These changes were announced through big fanfare, but the fact remains nobody can tell me right now what this means to me and what this means for my store and my business. There's a lot in limbo in our industry at the moment and the ability to plan my business is very challenging. It's immensely frustrating to say the least.”
President of the provincial pharmacists' association Byron Bergh believes that the new deal on drug funding is a positive step forward for the industry, one that he hopes will offer four years of certainty after such deep and unexpected cuts earlier this year.
“Our hope is that this deal will provide a predictable base to work from that will allow the other services coming on board to be developed and enhanced,” Bergh said. “Obviously the dispensing fee structure is changing, that will increase over time, but for the time being it's going to vary for each store. I think it should be considered positive news for most stores in the province.”
On top of the dispensing fee and additional monies pharmacists will receive for providing other services, the deal establishes a new process to discuss a variety of issues, and for the first time recognizes the APA as the authority representing pharmacists across Alberta.
If ratified, the deal will come into affect April 1, 2014 and will last until 2018.
