Report - LifeSciences BC

ecommendation for a stakeholdernegotiation process in 2004 to “ensure thatpayments…are fair, appropriate andeffective”, it would not be reasonable forGovernment to now act unilaterally withoutany meaningful effort to negotiate moreacceptable arrangements with the impactedstakeholders.The Role of PharmacyAs will be clear from the preceding section,the Task Force is concerned that, whilesignificant changes are required on a number offronts, it will be important to make certain thatthe essential role of pharmacy and pharmacistsis not compromised through this process ofreform. In fact, we believe that withappropriate consultation and effective multistakeholderengagement this important role canbe enhanced.In many respects, the fiscal focal point ofPharmaCare's relationship with thepharmaceutical supply chain and one of themost important links to effective and accessibleservice delivery to patients is pharmacy. If theprovince's goal is to assure optimal drug therapyand improved outcomes for patients, it will beessential for the PSD to fully engage pharmacy(which is widely viewed as one of the mostaccessible parts of the healthcare system), ininformed and transparent processes to developnew and innovative care practices to improveeffective drug utilization and better patientengagement.The Task Force also shares the view that itwill be necessary for the PSD to enter uponnegotiations with the representatives ofpharmacy to develop and implement a newarrangement for the provision of bothdispensing and other patient-centeredprofessional pharmacy services. Both partieshave, or ought to have, a significant interest inmoving towards a new and more transparentarrangement. For the PSD the goal should beto establish new, more competitive,approaches that will help to containunreasonably high generic prices. For thepharmacy community, decreasing reliance onrebates in favour of clearer understandingswith Government on services provided topatients should be viewed as a much moreappropriate outcome.PharmaCare's reimbursement level hasbeen $8.60 per prescription for a considerableperiod of time. The British ColumbiaPharmacists' Association takes the position that30the real cost is $13.60 per prescription whichis driven by pharmacists spending, on average,one third of their time on professional servicesover and above dispensing. There are twopoints that must be made here as well:1. The PSD has reasonably resisted increasesto the current level of $8.60 perprescription in an environment where it30See: The Activity Based Costing Study Final Report, January, 2007, a study jointly sponsored by the BC Ministry ofHealth, the Canadian Association of Drug Stores and the British Columbia Pharmacy Association.THE REPORT OF PHARMACEUTICAL POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE MINISTRY OF HEALTH 19 APRIL, 2008